School Work: Scientists and Politics

A large majority of the public (76%) and nearly all scientists (97%) say that it is appropriate for scientists
to become actively involved in political debates on controversial issues such as stem cell research and
nuclear power.
Among the public, substantial majorities of Democrats (80%), independents (76%) and Republicans
(75%) say it is appropriate for scientists to take an active political role on such issues. While older
Americans (those older than 50) and less educated people are somewhat more likely to see scientists
political involvement as inappropriate, majorities in all major demographic and political groups find this
appropriate.

Most Americans do not see scientists as a group as particularly liberal or conservative. Nearly two-thirds
of Americans (64%) say they think of scientists as neither in particular; 20% see them as politically
liberal and 9% say they are politically conservative.

In contrast, most scientists (56%) perceive the scientific community as politically liberal; just 2% think
scientists are politically conservative. About four-in-ten scientists (42%) concur with the majority public
view that scientists, as a group, are neither in particular.

The scientists belief that the scientific community is politically liberal is largely accurate. Slightly more
than half of scientists (52%) describe their own political views as liberal, including 14% who describe
themselves as very liberal. Among the general public, 20% describe themselves as liberal, with just 5%
calling themselves very liberal.
Most scientists identify as Democrats (55%), while 32% identify as independents and just 6% say they
are Republicans. When the leanings of independents are considered, fully 81% identify as Democrats or
lean to the Democratic Party, compared with 12% who either identify as Republicans or lean toward the
GOP. Among the public, there are far fewer self-described Democrats (35%) and far more Republicans
(23%). Overall, 52% of the public identifies as Democratic or leans Democratic, while 35% identifies as
Republican or leans Republican.
Majorities of scientists working in academia (60%), for non-profits (55%) and in government (52%) call
themselves Democrats, as do nearly half of those working in private industry (47%).