In the latest Gallup poll survey, confidence has dropped in science from 70% overall to 64%. But what has affected the six-percentage point drop the most has been the anti-intellectual, conspiracy theory-driven Republicans. Gallup: Confidence in science has dropped since 1975, with just 45% of Republicans having confidence in science compared to 72% in 1975. It's easy to see why so many Republicans believe in conspiracy theories when they don't trust basic science that has been proven by evidence. pic.twitter.com/XuT8U0F1NU This has been coming since 1980, when the religious right was brought into the fold of the GOP, at first by Ralph Reed, the Young Republicans, and the Televangelist movement under Reagan.