Public perceptions of scientists’ motives and support for therapeutic gene editing

Political and religious beliefs are closely associated with trust in science, yet little is known about how these beliefs shape perceptions of scientists’ motivations. Using original national survey data from U.S. adults (n = 1510), this article examines how political and religious identities influence perceptions of scientists’ motives and how those perceptions relate to support for therapeutic gene editing (TGE). We develop new measures of motive attribution to capture the moral meanings people assign to scientific work. Structural equation models show that liberals and nonreligious respondents, especially atheists and agnostics, are more likely than conservatives and religious respondents to view scientists as motivated by helping others and by advancing scientific knowledge. These perceptions are, in turn, strongly associated with support for TGE. Believing that scientists are motivated by helping others has the strongest positive effect, although believing they are motivated by advancing science is also associated with greater support for TGE. Decomposition analyses indicate that much of the political and religious variation in support for TGE operates through differences in perceived motives. Overall, these results suggest that cleavages in trust in science stem from divergent views of who scientists are and what motivates their work.