A global study has ranked Ireland as the second country in Europe with the most trust in science and scientists.
The study, which was led by a team at the University of Zurich, surveyed 71,922 people from 68 countries to determine how much trust the public have in science.
It is the largest post-pandemic survey regarding the public’s trust in science.
On The Pat Kenny Show, Professor Luke O’Neill said Ireland performed well in the study.
“The good news is Ireland was 14th in the world – we do very well,” he said.
“We’re second in Europe in terms of our general public trust in scientists.”
Score system
The study used a scoring system to mark each country’s trust in science – and Ireland scored 3.84.
“They have a scoring system out of five – five means full trust and the average is 3.6 across these countries,” Prof O’Neill said.
“Ireland does a bit better, so we’re getting something right.”
The study also found no link between high levels of religious population and a lack of trust in science.
“They asked [if] religiosity correlates with a lack of trust and it doesn’t,” Prof O’Neill said.
“Religious people often have a lot of trust in science, especially Muslims, because in the Quran, there are loads of principals of science explained, so they are more likely to be more trusting of science.”
However, the study did find correlations between political leanings and trust in science.
“[The study shows] if you’re conservative, right-leaning, you’ve less trust in science whereas if you’re left-leaning and more liberal you’ve increased trust in science,” he said.
Prof O’Neill said people with no trust in science are often able to convince others to think similarly.
“The study shows that if 10% of people in your society don’t trust science – they can flip others into being less trusting,” he said.
“If it gets to 25% of people then you’re in trouble and the majority begin to trust science less.”
Prof O’Neill said the study highlights a need to address a lack of public trust in science.
Feature image shows Prof Luke O’Neill (L) and a scientist in a lab coat (R, via Alamy)
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