Summary of a paper that appeared in the 23 July 1998 issue of Nature by Edward J. Larson and Larry Witham: "Leading Scientists Still Reject God." Nature, 1998; 394, 313.]
Larson and Witham present the results of a replication of 1913 and 1933 surveys by James H. Leuba. In those surveys, Leuba mailed a questionnaire to leading scientists asking about their belief in "a God in intellectual and affective communication with humankind" and in "personal immortality". Larson and Witham used the same wording [as in the Leuba studies], and sent their questionnaire to 517 members of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences from the biological and physical sciences (the latter including mathematicians, physicists and astronomers). The return rate was slightly over 50%.
The results were as follows (figures in %):
BELIEF IN PERSONAL GOD 1914 1933 1998
Personal belief 27.7 15 7.0
Personal disbelief 52.7 68 72.2
Doubt or agnosticism 20.9 17 20.8
BELIEF IN IMMORTALITY 1914 1933 1998
Personal belief 35.2 18 7.9
Personal disbelief 25.4 53 76.7
Doubt or agnosticism 43.7 29 23.3
Note: The 1998 immortality figures add up to more than 100%. The misprint is in the original. The 76.7% is likely too hi
The authors elaborated on these figures:
Disbelief in God and immortality among NAS biological scientists was 65.2% and 69.0%, respectively, and among NAS physical scientists it was 79.0% and 76.3%. Most of the rest were agnostics on both issues, with few believers. We found the highest percentage of belief among NAS mathematicians (14.3% in God, 15.0% in immortality). Biological scientists had the lowest rate of belief (5.5% in God, 7.1% in immortality), with physicists and astronomers slightly higher (7.5% in God, 7.5% in immortality).
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/sci_relig.htm
WaveJumper said:Isn't the belief in a personal God referring to having faith in something like the Father in Christianity? If that's the case, i am surprised so many physicists (7.5%) believe in the Father, the talking snake that hands out fruit and in God being so tired that he takes a day off to rest after working hard for 6 days to create the universe.
The relationship between order and God among physicists is a complex and highly debated topic. Some physicists believe that the laws of nature and the orderliness of the universe point to the existence of a higher power or God. Others argue that science and religion are separate and that order in the universe can be explained through natural laws and processes.
Scientists define order as the regularity and predictability of natural phenomena. In the context of the universe, order refers to the laws of nature that govern the behavior of particles, energy, and other fundamental aspects of the universe.
No, the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven through scientific means. Science is limited to studying and explaining the physical world through empirical evidence and experimentation. The existence of God is a matter of faith and belief, and cannot be tested or measured by scientific methods.
Religious beliefs can have a significant impact on how physicists approach the study of order and God. Some scientists may incorporate their religious beliefs into their research and see the order in the universe as evidence of a higher power. Others may keep their religious beliefs separate from their scientific work and focus solely on understanding the natural laws and processes that govern the universe.
No, there is no consensus among physicists about the existence of God. The relationship between science and religion is a highly personal and individual belief, and scientists may have varying opinions on the existence of God based on their own personal beliefs and experiences.