DOI: 10.3886/e244964v1
title: Which religious and personal characteristics predict attitudes toward gene editing in the United States?

description: Religion has historically played a significant role in guiding ethical and moral views, but it's impact on attitudes toward gene editing has not been substantially explored. We had two research questions: (1) Does the level of support for and concerns with gene
editing differ between nine major religious and non-religious groups in the
U.S.? and (2) What specific religious beliefs and practices
predict support for and concerns with gene editing? We surveyed 4,939 adults in the U.S., including
stratified samples of nine major religious and non-religious groups: (1) Black Protestant, (2) Catholic, (3) Evangelical Protestant, (4) Mainline Protestant, (5) Jewish, (6) Muslim, (7) atheist, (8) agnostic, (9) spiritual. We
assessed participants’ religious affiliation, beliefs, and practices; personal characteristics; and their
attitudes toward gene editing.<b></b><br><br>
description: None
description: Response Rates: Data was collected via two survey panel companies, Prolific and Cloud Research Prime Panels. Participants were recruited by the panel companies, who did not share response rates with the research team.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Attitudes toward Genomics and Precision Medicine (AGPM v.23): 41 items assessing support and concern with six genomic healthcare activities (i.e., genetic testing, gene editing, prenatal genetic testing, stem-cell research and therapy, storing health information, and mRNA vaccines; DuBois et al., 2021; Harris et al., 2024).<br><br>Integration with Daily Living: We used 4 items from the
Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale (Hoge, 1972).<br><br>Religious Fundamentalism: We used 5 items from
the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004). <br><br>Acceptance of Evolution: We used 4 items from
the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (Rutledge & Warden, 1999).<br><br>God in the Body: We used 3 items from
Mahoney et al. (2005)<br><br>God and Locus of Control: We used 3 items from
the God Locus of Health Control Scale (Wallston et al., 1999) <br><br>Healthcare Values of My Spiritual Community: A 13-item measure which consists of two subscales: (1) Permissive Positions
on Reproductive and End of Life Issues and (2) Support for Promoting Health of the Community (Dubois et al., 2025)<br><br>Genetic Knowledge: We used 6 items
total; 4 were from Furr and Kelly’s Genetic Knowledge Index, and 2 items from
Fitzgerald-Butt et al.’s genetic knowledge measure.<br><br>Healthcare System Distrust: We used 3 items from
the Health Care System Distrust Scale. <br><br>Religious Discrimination: We used 6 items from
the Religious Discrimination Scale, which consisted of two subscales: (1) Closet Symptoms and (2) Negative Labels.<br><br><br>References: <br><br>DuBois, J. M., Mozersky, J., Antes, A., English, T., Parsons, M. V., & Baldwin, K. (2021). Attitudes toward genomics and precision medicine. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 5(1), e120.<br><br>Harris, J. K., Solomon, E. D., Baldwin, K., Baker, L. L., Chin, E., & DuBois, J. M. (2024). Integrating mRNA vaccines into the Attitudes Toward Genomics and Precision Medicine Scale: A validation study with a sample of 4,939 adults in the US. Retrieved from osf.io/vczqb<br><br>Hoge R. A validated intrinsic religious motivation
scale. Journal for the scientific study
of religion. 1972:369-376. <br><br>Altemeyer
B, Hunsberger B. A Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale: The Short and Sweet
of It. The International Journal for the
Psychology of Religion. 2004/01/01 2004;14(1):47-54.
doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr1401_4
<br><br>Rutledge
ML, Warden MA. The Development and Validation of the Measure of Acceptance of
the Theory of Evolution Instrument. School
Science and Mathematics. 1999;99(1):13-18. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1999.tb17441.x<br><br>Mahoney A, Carels RA, Pargament KI, et al. The
Sanctification of the Body and Behavioral Health Patterns of College Students. The International Journal for the Psychology
of Religion. 2005/07/01 2005;15(3):221-238. doi:10.1207/s15327582ijpr1503_3<br><br>Wallston KA, Malcarne VL, Flores L, et al. Does
God Determine Your Health? The God Locus of Health Control Scale. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
1999;23(2):131-142. <br><br>DuBois, J. M., Chin, E. G., Solomon, E. D., Harris, J. K., Hill, P., Baldwin, K., & Baker, L. L. (2025). Religious factors predict support for genomic medicine more strongly than politics, education, or trust: A survey of 4,939 adults in the United States. Frontiers in Genetics, 16, 1587774.<br><br>Furr LA, Kelly SE. The Genetic Knowledge Index:
Developing a Standard Measure of Genetic Knowledge. Genetic Testing. 1999;3(2):193-199. doi:10.1089/gte.1999.3.193
<br><br>Fitzgerald-Butt
SM, Bodine A, Fry KM, et al. Measuring genetic knowledge: a brief survey
instrument for adolescents and adults. Clinical
genetics. 2016;89(2):235-243. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/cge.12618

<br><br>Shea
JA, Micco E, Dean LT, McMurphy S, Schwartz JS, Armstrong K. Development of a
revised Health Care System Distrust scale. Journal
of general internal medicine. 2008;23(6):727-732.
doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0575-3

<br><br>Kawika
Allen GE, Wang KT, Richards PS, Ming M, Suh HN. Religious Discrimination Scale:
Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation. J Relig Health. Apr 2020;59(2):700-713.
doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0617-z
description: Data was collected via two survey panel companies, Prolific and Cloud Research Prime Panels. From Prolific, we recruited a sample of participants who were representative of the U.S. population in terms of race, gender, and age. From Cloud Research Prime Panels, we used stratified sampling to recruit 300 or more participants from one of six religious groups: Black Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical (or Post-Evangelical), Jewish, Mainline Protestant, and Muslim. In total, n=2999 were recruited from Prolific and n=1940 from Cloud Research Prime Panels.
description: Adults in the United States. Smallest Geographic Unit: United States
description: web-based survey;