According to this study out of Trinity College in Hartford, “educated elites” (people with masters degrees, doctorates, and professional degrees) are just as religious as the rest of America. Here is a snippet from Cathy Lynn Grossman’s blog at USA Today:
- Forget the old fear of university indoctrination in atheism or secularism. “The elite today look more like their parents than their professors.” While 82% of all Americans said in 2008 that they believe in a personal God or a high power, so did 85% of elites.
- They also more closely resemble most Americans. In the past 18 years there’s been an 80% jump in the number people with post-graduate degrees, up from 6% of the USA in 1990 to 8% in 2008. Joining the ranks were “more women and more southerners — the two groups with the highest levels of religious commitment.”
- Elites share the majority’s doubts about evolution although they are still more likely to support it with 48% saying humans evolved from earlier species of animals, compared to 38% of the nation overall.
- Elites have high levels of household membership in a house of worship: 63% say they belong compared to 54% of overall. “They have higher incomes and can afford to join and to put more in the collection plate.”
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