A first cross-national study of religion and spirituality among scientists unveiled that in comparison to British scientists, Indian scientists are more religious.

Surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted. In the British survey, 1,581 scientists were involved and in the survey carried out in India, 1,763 scientists took part. The surveys also used population data from the World Values Survey, so that comparisons can be done with the general public.

After evaluating them, it has been found that 65% of British scientists are non-religious and just 6% of Indian scientists were identified as non-religious.

It was also found that 32% of scientists in India attend religious services once a month or more. But in the case of scientists in Britain, only 12% do so. Elaine Howard Ecklund, a Herbert S. Autrey professor of sociology from Rice University, explained why they have chosen Indian and British scientists for their study.

"India and Britain are deeply intertwined historically while deeply different religiously. There is a vastly different character of religion among scientists in Britain than in India - potentially overturning the view that scientists are universal carriers of secularization", affirmed Ecklund.

The study titled as, 'The Religion Among Scientists in International Context (RASIC)' unveiled that 73% of Indian scientists stated that there are certain basic truths in many religions. In the UK survey, 49% of the respondents agreed that there are basic truths in many religions.

Ecklund shared that the UK is one of the countries known for its secularism. But the study has helped them know that scientists are especially more likely not to belong to a religion when compared with the general population.

The survey unveiled that 50% of the UK population responded that they are not associated with a religion and 65% of UK scientists said the same in the survey. Also, 47% of the UK population has never attended a religious service in comparison to 68% of scientists.