Religious Characteristics of U.S. Physicians:
The response rate was 63%…Compared with the general population, physicians are more likely to be affiliated with religions that are underrepresented in the United States, less likely to say they try to carry their religious beliefs over into all other dealings in life (58% vs 73%), twice as likely to consider themselves spiritual but not religious (20% vs 9%), and twice as likely to cope with major problems in life without relying on God (61% vs 29%).
The Seattle Times has a detailed article and an informative table. The table offers the following denominational data (religion, frequency in survey respondents, frequency in general population): Protestant (38.8/54.7), Catholic (21.7/26.7), Jewish (14.1/1.9), None (10.6/13.3), Hindu (5.3/0.2), Muslim (2.7/0.5), Orthodox (2.2/0.5), Mormon (1.7/0.4), Other (1.8/1.6).
The large number of Jews is no surprise to anyone, while Hindus and a great portion of the Muslim segmant are basically proxies for the brown presence in the medical profession. The high number of Buddhists is probably the tip of the iceberg for the number of East Asians (since most East Asians in the USA aren’t Buddhist, and are most likely to be Christian with a large non-religious minority, see Kosmin et al.). I am a bit perplexed by the Orthodox number, but I do recall that various groups like Greeks who fall under this category have done well for themselves, and their urban orientation might mean they are more likely to enter into professions.
In any case, some readers might be surprised at the relatively high rates of institutional religiosity as measured by affiliation and attendance coupled with somewhat less than typical personalized vigor and engagement (that is, doctors are more likely to go to church, but less likely to believe in God or an afterlife). Don’t be, sociologists of religion like Rodney Stark have been pointing out for decades that there is often a strong positive correlation between socioeconomic status and affiliation with institutional religion. To be succinct, affiliation with a local religion often symbolizes that one is a pillar of the community. This can be illustrated by the common practice of switching churches with changes in one’s socioeconomic status (that is, Episcopalians are more closely associated with the establishment than Baptists). Additionally, elite affiliated religious denomination tend to have a relaxed This-Worldly attitude, all the better to maximize social networking and minimize alienation from society at large. The Unitarians are probably the most extreme manifestation of this, as they basically serve as a social networking club for secular folk who want to have a collegial churchy atmosphere (Unitarians kids have the highest SAT score of major religions).1
Via Arthur Hu.
Related: God & the scientists.
Update: Levels of support for Creationism among M.D.s. Here is the full report, please note that the sample size for some groups is very small.
1 – I have checked out Unitarian churches before and dated a lapsed Unitarian who was very active in her youth group, so I speak from experience.
Posted by razib at 02:40 AM