Support for embryonic stem cell research continues to rise among the American public and many people believe a combination of creationism, intelligent design and evolution should be taught in public schools, according to Virginia Commonwealth University's 2005 Life Sciences Survey.
The survey found that a majority of Americans, 58 percent of those surveyed, now strongly or somewhat favor embryonic stem cell research, up from 52 percent last year and 47 percent in 2003.
The trend of increased approval of embryonic stem cell research can be attributed primarily to the American public garnering a better understanding of the process, said David Urban, director of the Survey and Evaluation research lab at VCU.
There has been a lot of public attention on the subject of stem cell research recently, in the form of political legislation and platforms on the state and national level, as well as some high-profile cases of Parkinson's disease and spinal injury that have brought attention to stem cell research as a potential source of medical aid, Urban said.
Urban also said with a growing number of older Americans, as well as a general interest of the American public in scientific discoveries -- 87 percent of those surveyed said they were a lot or a somewhat interested in scientific discoveries -- it's not surprising to see a greater general interest in medical research.
"I think [the survey results] show how that stem cell research issue has risen in the consciousness of the American public," Urban said.
John Arras, professor of Biomedical Ethics at the University of Virginia, said as the American public learns more about the possible medical benefits of embryonic stem cell research, they will become more comfortable with it.
"My prediction is that opposition to stem cell research will completely fold once real cures are on the horizon," Arras said.
The survey also found that there is no strong consensus among those surveyed about the origin of biological life, and regardless of personal beliefs, nearly half of those surveyed believe that a combination of creationism, intelligent design and evolution should be taught in public schools.
The survey also presented subjects with three statements, each corresponding with one of the major origin of life views -- 42 percent of those surveyed related most to the creationist statement, 26 percent selected the intelligent design view and only 17 percent selected the evolutionist view.
Urban said that these results are directly related to how people think of religion in their everyday lives, and reflects the rising religious population in the United States.
Urban also said the favoring of creationist and intelligent design views may be a result of the scientific community doing a poor job of making its case for evolution to the public, while religiously-based views have been more aggressively promoted.
This is the fifth year that the VCU Life Sciences Survey has been conducted. The survey was conducted by telephone with 1002 adults nationwide, from Sept. 14 to 29 of this year. The margin of error for the study is 3 percent.
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