Authors: N. Kanon Black, T. Heath Ogden, Britt Wyatt, Josh Premo, Jessica A Cusick
Mentors: Jessica A Cusick
Insitution: Utah Valley University
Religiosity plays an impactful role on the beliefs and inclinations of individuals as they relate to scientific ideas and their applications. For instance, in some populations the more religiously committed a person is, the less likely they are to believe in evolutionary theory as it is taught or to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. However, for some religious institutions, religiosity is linked to stronger acceptance of evolution. Therefore, continuing to assess how differences in religious affiliation and religiosity across varying populations links to acceptance of scientific ideas and their application is necessary. We tested how the religiosity of individuals interacts with their scientific beliefs and the decisions they make that are informed by those beliefs. A survey was administered to students at Utah Valley University that included questions regarding their views on scientific ideas of evolutionary theory and vaccinations, as well as questions assessing their level of commitment to religion (religiosity). We limited our analyses to students from the BIOL 1010 course, which represents the general student population because it is the most popular GE course offered at UVU. Statistical analyses were run using R software. The results of these analyses reveal the relationship between religiosity and scientific beliefs as they relate to students of this community and to some extent, may generally apply to the community that surrounds UVU.