Scientists Who Believe In God

QUESTION: Are there many scientists who believe in God?

ANSWER:

Are there many scientists who believe in God? Bryn Mawr College psychologist James Leuba asked this question in 1914 and again in 1933. Specifically, he asked a sample of American scientists if they believed in a personal God who answers prayers and in the immortality of the human soul. According to Leuba, he “chose to define God as given above because that is the God worshipped in every branch of the Christian religion.” Scientists were selected from the standard reference guide American Men of Science (later changed to American Men and Women of Science) and were limited to one of three answers: yes, no or I don’t know. The results of Leuba’s studies found that 40% of American scientists believe in a personal God.

Scientists Who Believe In God – Today
In 1996 and again in 1998, Pulitzer Prize winner Professor Edward Larson of the University of Georgia and Washington Times reporter Larry Witham teamed up to duplicate Leuba’s study in an effort to determine if scientists’ religious beliefs have changed much over the last 65 years. Larson and Witham found that 40% of American scientists still believe in a personal God. This does not include scientists who believe in an impersonal God or in a God who does not answer prayer. Nor does it include scientists who believe in a personal God, but don’t believe in the immortality of the human soul. If we were to take them into consideration, the percentage would likely be higher.

So, are there many scientists who believe in God? There certainly are.