London, England - The resurgence of religion over the past decade and the associated threat to science are mirrored in A-level entries, figures compiled by Buckingham University indicate.
Figures from the university's centre for education and employment research show that the number of students sitting chemistry has remained static despite a 9% rise in entries for all subjects since 1996. Biology has shown a modest 5% gain and physics has fallen 16% - both dwarfed by a doubling of religious studies entries.
Media studies entries have risen two and half times, while English has stagnated.
Looked at another way, however, a lot more students are still studying traditional subjects, including the sciences, than they are trendy new ones. Biology entries, at nearly 55,000 this year, far outstrip the 18,200 for religious studies.
There are still as many students sitting physics A-levels as sociology and many fewer take media studies than do chemistry or English.
Professor Alan Smithers, who compiled the table, said the "dramatic" changes over the past 10 years reflected social attitudes.
"Most of the subjects that have grown are the touchy feely subjects like psychology. Religious studies may reflect dissatisfaction with the hard impersonal material world. The switch away from maths and physics and other science subjects may reflect that shift too," he said.