Deus ex scientia

Times have changed, but the percentage of American scientists who believe in a god has not changed, a pair of researchers found in a recent survey. Replicating a survey that was first taken in 1916, Edward Larson of the University of Georgia and Larry Witham of Burtonsville, Maryland, found that better and widespread education have not deterred some scientists from their belief in a deity. Psychologist James Leuba— who in 1916 shocked the nation when he found that only 42% of the scientists of his day believed in a supreme being—had predicted that the advance of scientific knowledge would undermine religion in the United States.