Who would you believe?

• Position: Religion - Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins' view of religion and science

Two prominent scientists with drastically different views on the relationship of science and religion--Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins--have an equally different influence on these views among people who are unfamiliar with their work, according to research from Rice and West Virginia universities.

For the study, sociologists examined whether two high-profile "science popularizers"--scientists who attempt to help the public understand science and how it relates to people's lives--make the public more or less likely to view science and religion as being in conflict. The researchers found that people's perceptions of the religion-science relationship were not influenced when they read about a scientist who believes science and religion are in conflict (Dawkins); however, reading about a scientist who believes both institutions influence and guide each other (Collins) shifted respondents toward a collaborative view of religion and science.

Rice University's Elaine Ecklund, chair of Social Sciences and founding director of the Religion and Public Life Program, says the findings might be explained by what likely is a "significant difference in the perceived credibility of Dawkins and Collins."

'The Influence of Science Popularizers on the Public's View of Religion and Science: An Experimental Assessment" was featured in the journal Public Understandings of Science. The research is part of a larger study, "Religious Understandings of Science" (RUS), which explores how religious Americans think through complex scientific issues. Ecklund is the principal investigator for RUS.

Dawkins is a renowned British evolutionary biologist, as well as an atheist and critic of creationism and intelligent design. Collins is the director of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and an evangelical Christian. "Dawkins has been a very vocal and aggressive supporter of the idea that religion inherently clashes with science and that science inherently undermines religion," the researchers write. "On the other hand, Collins has presented himself as evidence that religion and science can not only coexist but that they can even enlighten each other's claims." Each has published best-selling books, given many...