Too many students reject the theory of evolution because they view it as incompatible with their religious beliefs. Some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution. Conversely, our data support that highlighting faith/evolution compatibility is an effective means to increase student acceptance. We surveyed students enrolled in entry-level biology courses at four religiously affiliated institutions. At each university, teachers gave students a presentation that demonstrated potential compatibility between evolution and faith within the teachings of each university’s respective religious affiliation. Students were asked to evaluate their own beliefs about evolution both before and after this instruction. After instruction at each university, students showed significant gains in evolution acceptance without abandoning their religious beliefs. These results demonstrate that giving religious students the opportunity to reconcile their religious beliefs with the theory of evolution under the influence of intentional instruction on the compatibility of belief and evolution can lead to increased evolution acceptance among religious students.

This single, mutilated leaf from a papyrus codex consists of twelve lines of text written in a nearly upright biblical uncial. The practiced scribal hand has consistent spacing of letters and serifs adorning τ, χ, κ, and η. A dieresis is written above iota in line 4, and an apostrophe marks the end of Iωακειμ (line 7), which may indicate that the name lacked an ordinary Greek declension. Joseph van Haelst originally dated the hand to the beginning of the fourth century, and its similarities to P.Oxy. 1250 and 4804 confirm a fourth century dating.1

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract