Secularized or non-secularized science: A comparative survey of high school students’ perspectives across 18 countries

Abstract

This article has four objectives: (1) to present an indicator, based on a validated test, that determines the extent to which individuals hold secularized or non-secularized conceptions of science, (2) to present the results of a survey carried out, using this indicator, among senior high school students from 18 countries and of different convictions (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox Christians, Muslim and agnostic-atheist), with the aim of determining whether they have a secularized or non-secularized conception of science (= dependent variable), (3) to account for the results obtained using several variables, both individual (relating to students’ personal religious beliefs) and contextual (the degree of existential security and religiosity in the country), (4) to propose a more general reflection on the indicators of secularization used in this research.