The Scientific Division in American Politics: Explained
Within The Conversation, an academic journal sponsored by CNN, a multitude of researchers have looked into whether matters or science divide the American public’s politics. Unsurprisingly, what they found fits into the political zeitgeist that has outlined the debate throughout the 21st century: Yes, topics of science do divide American politics. But despite the simple conclusion, the why behind conservatives and liberals opinions on science are far more nuanced and broad than any simple explanation can provide.
As sociologists have accrued research that believes the link between partisanship and science may not be so final, the greater question of political stereotypes comes into play. While it is true that conservatives are painted as anti-science and liberals are painted as agreeing, a 2015 study, conducted amongst over 1500 voters, found that most conservatives and liberals would trust the advice and policy proposals given to them by acclaimed scientists and researchers, even on more “ politically contentious [ topics ]” ( The Conversation ). However, the research also found that Conservatives and Independents tended to share similar views on science in politics compared to liberals, making the group steady “outliers” in an already heated scene.
But in order to understand why this is, researchers had to look into the values of each political group to explain why science did and still divides American politics even when, according to the Pew Research Institute, federal science policy and recommendation had been widely accepted by both parties previous to the 21st century. One explanation for the sudden divide can be found in values, as previously mentioned. The aforementioned 2015 study also found that “reactions to certain issues were more tightly linked with religious attitudes than with political ones” ( The Conversation” , confirming the idea that personal values may be the arbiter of political division in science rather than stereotypical party affiliation. Additionally, cultural cognition ( agreeing to the values of a particular belief system ) may be threatened for certain individuals if they step outside of their value system to acknowledge new information regarding science or any academic pursuit.
So, through academic research and debate, it has been assumed that people's personal values of the world around them shapes their political attitudes towards science and can coincide with, instead of trumping, their own political affiliations. So, while it is still important to acknowledge how certain political ideologies view science, it is equally important to fully understand how these views come to be: through personal experience and belief systems that dually operate inside and out of the realm of politics.
Works Cited:
Griffin, Lauren. “Why Do Science Issues Seem to Divide Us along Party Lines?” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/why-do-science-issues-seem-to-divide-us-along-party-lines-66626. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.
“Column: Why Science Issues Seem to Divide Us along Party Lines.” PBS NewsHour, 17 Oct. 2016, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/column-science-issues-seem-divide-us-along-party-lines. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026
Lloyd, Jay. “The Strange New Politics of Science.” Issues in Science and Technology, 14 Apr. 2025, https://issues.org/new-politics-science-mills-st-clair/. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.
