Partisan identity, scientific and religious authority, and lawmaker support for science policy

Abstract

This article examines mechanisms related to lawmaker support for public policies based on scientific evidence and supportive of organized science. We propose that Republican lawmakers are more likely than Democrats to oppose these policies because Republicans are less likely than Democrats to base policy decisions on scientific authority and more likely than Democrats to base decisions on religious authority. We tested this hypothesis using data from a survey of state legislators from all 50 states (n = 941). Our structural equation model shows that compared to Democrats, Republicans’ policy decisions rely less on information from scientists and other experts and more on information from religious leaders. We also find evidence that lawmakers’ reliance on scientific and religious authority plays intermediary roles between their partisan identities and their attitudes about energy, vaccine, and biomedical research policies. Specifically, party differences in support for each kind of policy are associated with Democratic lawmakers’ greater reliance on science and Republicans’ greater reliance on religion. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for research on science, religion, politics, and policymaking.