Political Leaning by College Major

[sanantone]

I came across this interesting list on a conservative website for women. I have no idea where they obtained their information. I might contact the editor for sources. However, while this list might look strange to many, it looks about right to me. There's this misconception that STEM majors lean right. It's possible that they might lean more fiscally conservative, but to assume that they would be more socially conservative would go against statistics in other areas. Not only are scientists more likely to believe that current global warming is caused by human activity (they don't even see this as a political issue, but it has been politicized), American scientists are also more likely than the general population to be atheists and agnostics. Post-graduates and those who are non-religious tend to be pro-choice. 

I should note that being religious does not always lead to being socially conservative. Education majors are very religious, but they are also very liberal. 

http://futurefemaleleader.com/most-conse...ge-majors/
http://www.pewforum.org/2009/11/05/scien...nd-belief/
http://news.gallup.com/poll/154946/non-c...hoice.aspx

Here's another interesting study that found that biology and physical science majors are just about as religious as they were when they started college, so it look like their studies may have little to no effect on their religious beliefs. 

http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/7256-st...each-other

[icampy]

Interesting.

No wonder kids don't learn real history anymore, just one sided revisionist crap.

[sanantone]

Interesting.

No wonder kids don't learn real history anymore, just one sided revisionist crap.

I think history is sugarcoated until you reach college. I know that Texas history was very whitewashed, but that might have more to do with the state government choosing textbooks and setting curriculum. The most I learned about Texas history was, surprisingly, from a penology book. Maybe teachers just don't deem it appropriate to teach all those disturbing things in K-12. But, they could have at least had us read the Declaration of Secession for Texas and other states. I've gotten the impression that most people haven't seen them.

[icampy]

I grew up in Alabama, and even our textbooks in both public and private school were pretty bad. It wasn't until I got to high school and started learning history from other places and reading on my own that I realized how textbooks had brainwashed me.

I lived, literally, in the Heart of Dixie, and textbooks had me believing all sorts of stuff about the US and CSA that was utter BS. From all of the wars for the past 500 years, to political decisions from world leaders, what I learned in school was either severely whitewashed or completely revised to make certain groups look bad (the opposite group of whoever bitches the loudest).

Some of those higher percentages are laughable....a liberal actor or womens studies major? Whodathunkit.

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And once I moved to TX, I realized how little non-Texas textbooks tell you about the history of TX. Texas is a cool damn state.

[clep3705]

There's only one axiom of Texas history: It doesn't have to be true, it only has to be colorful.

Textbooks should be better now after the death of the Gablers. They were husband and wife Christian conservatives who influenced textbooks nationally. Because of the size of Texas school book purchases, publishers tended to do what Texas said. What Texas said, the nation got. The Gablers did find glaring errors in textbooks. They also managed to suppress liberal views and get their conservative views in textbooks at times. Keep in mind that once a textbook has been purchased, it is used for years. Only in the last few years have the last Gabler influenced textbooks been replaced. Here is a good summary of the power this couple wielded: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/educat...abler.html

Texas remains a large volume purchaser. It still influences the country. So does California. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2012/06/...oks-on-us/

[Joeman200]

Thanks for sharing sanantone. I think both sides like to influence young minds with their textbooks.

For example, there's a lot about Karl Marx's ideology in college textbooks... what the books fail to articulate though, is that 100 million people have died in the 20th century due to Marxism. (Oh, right, but it just hasn't been implemented correctly yet.)

I was just discussing with someone that it can be the same on the right. For example, If I were to go to a private christian college, in a way that's my "safe space" from outside ideas (such as evolution). If you are right about something, you should be able to formulate the better argument.

[a2jc4life]

Interesting.

I agree that history tends to be both whitewashed AND one-sided -- as conflicted as that seems. They say the victor writes the history, and we certainly see that in the U.S., with (for instance) Lincoln virtually idolized and all major history textbooks being pro-Union and anti-South. And yet there's a lot of ugliness left out (on both sides). The truth is history is more COMPLEX than what is usually taught.

If I had to guess, I'd also guess we'd see a stronger skew toward liberal for women in STEM than for men, because I'd guess we see some women in STEM who are there more because they believe they "should be" or to make a point than because they legitimately want to be. (Unlike many, I believe career direction and the like are both nature & nurture. I believe if nurture were entirely left out of it, we would NOT see all fields split 50/50 between men and women; I believe we'd still see skew. But probably not as much as when cultural expectations are added to the mix.)

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I was just discussing with someone that it can be the same on the right.  For example, If I were to go to a private christian college, in a way that's my "safe space" from outside ideas (such as evolution).  If you are right about something, you should be able to formulate the better argument.

Yes!  The truth will hold up under questioning, so if we're confident in our beliefs, push-back shouldn't be threatening.