I have worked with scientists whose names you might recognize if you were interested in their fields. This research does not surprise me; seeing the phenomenon live was what surprised me. The research matches my experience. The reasons mentioned in the research match the conversations I have had with them.
And they do choose traditional denominations as well.
The 850 scientists who claim no ‘religious affiliation’ does not mean they are atheists.
Do the researchers mean to indicate that all 275 scientists they interviewed were atheists? That would mean only one out of six scientists are atheists, not a much higher percentage than the general population.
Why no breakdown between religions for the ‘services’ attended? Did they exclude non-Christian places of worship as the term ‘church’ would indicate?