Abstract

Religion is among the most powerful factors shaping attitudes toward human reproductive cloning. This article explores this influence with both quantitative and qualitative data from a major online questionnaire study; Survey2001; that was sponsored by the National Geographic Society and the National Science Foundation. The interpretations offered in this article are based in the New Paradigm theory of religion; that stresses the capacity of religion to resist the secularizing influence of science. The controversy over cloning in part illustrates the possibility of heated future conflict between religion and science. The views expressed here are those of the author; and do not necessarily reflect those of the journal's editors; nor of the two organizations that sponsoredSurvey2001.