Scientists are much more liberal than the general public

Only 6% of scientists are Republicans, and only 9% are conservative, according to this recent Pew survey.

Not just divergent attitudes toward evolution, which you would expect, but attitudes toward government and business are different:

Why?

Update on Friday, August 21, 2009 at 04:20PM by Skeptic

Another odd thing about scientists, according to Sam Harris who writes about atheism:

Although it is possible to be a scientist and still believe in God — as some scientists seem to manage it — there is no question that an engagement with scientific thinking tends to erode, rather than support, religious faith. Taking the U.S. population as an example: Most polls show that about 90% of the general public believes in a personal God; yet 93% of the members of the National Academy of Sciences do not. This suggests that there are few modes of thinking less congenial to religious faith than science is.