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Confidence in science fell in 2022 while political divides persisted, US poll shows

Less than 40% of U.S. adults surveyed said they had ‘a great deal of confidence’ in science
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak takes part in a science experiment as he visits the Friendship Technology Preparatory High School during his trip to Washington, DC, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a partisan divide in views of both science and medicine that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, 39% of U.S. adults said they had “a great deal of confidence” in the scientific community, down from 48% in 2018 and 2021. That’s according to the General Social Survey, a long-running poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago that has monitored Americans’ opinions on key topics since 1972.

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