Study: Science and religion are not only incompatible, religious areas being left behind
Science and religion just don’t co-exist, according to a recent study by economists at Princeton University.
“Places with higher levels of religiosity have lower rates of scientific and technical innovation, as measured by patents per capita,” said Roland Bénabou, the study’s lead author, told Mother Jones.
The researchers used an economic model to explore the relationship between scientific innovation, religious faith, and government power as they formed different “regimes.”
They identified a secular, European-style regime where religion had very little policy influence and science enjoyed great support; a repressive, theocratic regime where the state and religion suppress science; and an American-style regime where religion and science generally thrived.