Science

Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But highly religious Americans are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.

More than half of U.S. adults (56%) say they talk about science news with others at least a few times a month.

Large majorities value government investments in science and consider it important for the United States to be a world leader in scientific achievement, but few think the country is gaining ground globally.

While residential solar power generates just a fraction of the country’s overall electricity, it has continued to grow rapidly.

Overall, 46% of Americans say the statement “public health officials were unprepared for the outbreak” describes their views extremely or very well, including similar shares of Republicans and Democrats.

Online dating users who are Democrats are far more likely their Republican counterparts to say someone’s vaccination status is important for them to see.

Men who describe themselves as gay or bisexual are more likely to say they have received or intend to get a monkeypox vaccine.

Here’s what Americans said they learned about the development of vaccines and medical treatments and their advice for handling a future outbreak.

Despite the many depressing stories dominating the international news cycle, there is also a note of positivity among survey respondents in views of the UN, the benefits of international cooperation for solving problems and the importance of common values for bringing nations together.

We asked respondents to describe in their own words what rose and fell in importance to them during the pandemic. Here are some of the key themes that emerged.