Science vs Religion? Now Meet The 3rd Group In The Debate – The 'Post-Seculars'

It is not just a two-way split between science and religion anymore.

A study showed that there is a new group of people, dubbed as "Post-Seculars," who are well-informed about science but are also very religious, The Washington Post reported.

One in five Americans have been found to belong to the category of Post-Seculars, who are more strongly religious than "Traditionals" (43 percent of Americans) and more scientifically knowledgeable than "Moderns" (36 percent) who stand on science alone, two sociologists found in their recent study.

"We were surprised to find this pretty big group (21 percent) who are pretty knowledgeable and appreciative about science and technology but who are also very religious and who reject certain scientific theories," said Timothy O'Brien, co-author of the research study and an assistant professor at the University of Evansville in Indiana.

The said study was released on Thursday in the American Sociological Review and was co-authored with Shiri Noy, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wyoming.

However, although they are both religious and scientifically-minded, Post-Seculars break with both categories when faith clashes with science.

According to O'Brien, Post-Seculars select among science and religion views to form their own "personally compelling way of understanding the world."

They were called as such to jump past a popular theory that Americans are moving way from religion to become more secular, O'Brien said.

The study examined responses of 2,901 participants to 18 questions on knowledge of and attitudes toward science and four religion-related questions in the General Social Surveys conducted in 2006, 2008 and 2010, the newspaper reported.

The study's findings confirm the usual divide among Moderns and Traditionals. The former lean towards reason while the latter towards religion.

The first group scored high on scientific knowledge and scored lowest on religion questions on biblical authority while the second scored lower on science facts and were least likely to agree that "the benefits of scientific research outweigh the harmful results."

A third perspective, however, showed up. People who were divergents of these two norms, about half of whom are conservative Protestants, know facts about how lasers work, what antibiotics do, and how genetics affects inherited illnesses.

On the three main areas where science and Christian-centric religious views conflict, Post-Seculars differed from the rest. Here were their respective responses:

The universe began with a huge explosion (Big Bang Theory):

* Traditional: 21 percent

* Modern: 68 percent

* Post Secular: 6 percent

Human beings evolved from earlier species of animals:

* Traditional: 33 percent

* Modern: 88 percent

* Post-Secular: 3 percent

The continents have been moving for millions of years and will move in the future (age of the Earth):

* Traditional: 66 percent

* Modern: 98 percent

* Post-Secular: 80 percent

"Post-Seculars are smart. They know what scientists think. They just don't agree on some key issues, and that has impact on their political views," said O'Brien.

Post-Seculars tend much more to say they were strongly religious. They also side with the religious when it comes to issues with strong contention between religion and science.

O'Brien said that Moderns are the most supportive of embryonic stem cell research and abortion rights for women, but Post-Seculars, who are nonetheless largely positive about science and society, are more skeptical in both areas.

He also said that these categories can predict people's attitudes on political issues where science and religion both have claims, said O'Brien. And this is something candidates for next year's polls should keep in mind.