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

— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) July 16, 2021

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.

It continued to grow and grow, and during George W. Bush years, the Terry Schiavo faux scandal blew up on right-wing media and was led by evangelicals and Randall Terry pro-life wackadoos who claimed Schiavo was alive and well when she was actually in a vegetative state.

Digby nailed them to the wall back in 2005.

Creationists attacked Darwin and dubbed evolution as only a theory.

Which brought us the very wise Flying Spaghetti Monster!

The Pat Robertsons, Ron Johnsons, and their ilk are prime time climate change deniers bought and paid for by Big Oil.

The entire GOP has now morphed into QAnon nut jobs under Traitor Trump that we see and hear every day screaming about vaccines, or masks, or whatever else has their dander up at any given time.

To them, scientists are quacks and the pardoned felon Dinesh D'Souza is a prophet.

The American right is so lost in anti-vax nonsense that Hannity telling his viewers to listen to their doctors comes across as a refreshingly reasonable position https://t.co/BrNHI2JHQ7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 16, 2021