Religiosity and identity interference among graduate students in the sciences

Individuals who hold an identity that is stigmatized in a particular social context will often, if possible, conceal that identity. While such concealment is intended to help the individual fit into that context, research has found that concealment often harms the individual's ability to form an identity and sense of belonging. The study presented here examines this dynamic as it relates to religious individuals in science. Past research suggests that being religious is a stigmatized identity within academic science and that many religious scientists conceal their religious identity to avoid that stigma. Using data generated from a survey of U.S. science graduate students and structural equation modeling, we examine concealment of religious identity among religious students and whether this concealment mediates a negative relationship between student religiosity and identification as a scientist. The analysis finds that religiosity is positively associated with concealment of religious identity, which itself is negatively associated with identification as a scientist. This study contributes to the sociological study of religion and science by shifting the focus away from epistemological conflicts and towards more social and cultural forms of religion-science conflict. These findings also contribute to research on identity conflict, stigma management, and the role of social identities in workplaces.