Political divisions on confidence in the scientific and medical communities have widened, according to an analysis of the 2021 General Social Survey (GSS) by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey, conducted a year into the pandemic, finds confidence in the scientific community has increased among Democrats between 2018 and 2021, but fell among Republicans.
Forty-eight percent of Americans overall have a great deal of confidence in the scientific community. But there is now a 30-point gap in confidence between Democrats and Republicans, up from a 9-point gap in 2018. In 2021, 64% of Democrats have a great deal of confidence in the scientific community, whereas only 34% of Republicans say the same. CONTINUED
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
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