I'd say scientific background as I think that the idea here is about a person making personal decisions and participating in public issues. If you have a scientific background, you'll be able to process and evaluate the information available to you to take personal decisions. For instance, you have a biology background (which is scientific) this will help you define the consequences related to cigarette smoking and hence, help you decide whether smoking will be beneficial to you.
On the other hand, your biology background would help you when taking part in public debates about the misuse of antibiotics for instance. People tend to not to follow the prescribed dose and have a tendency to stop the medication way before or take the wrong medication, in either case promoting antibiotic resistance.
