Journalism and the Debate Over Origins: Newspaper Coverage of Intelligent Design

Martin, Joanne; Sweetser, Kaye D.; Landers, Daphne; Valois, Jeanne M.; Bailey, Terri

doi:10.1207/s15328415jmr0501_3

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…More were favorable to the scientists' point of view, less out of advocacy perhaps than out of deference to the prestige of science as an institution or awareness of the legal history of creationism teaching in public schools. This result is consistent with the findings of Martin et al (2006). Major American newspapers, it appears, have portrayed ID over the course of its relatively brief existence as having more to do with religion than biology.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

The Conflict over Origins: A Discourse Analysis of the Creationism Controversy in American Newspapers

Shortell

2011

Mass Communication and Society

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The debate about human origins between creationists and biologists is hardly a new one. In its latest cycle, the dispute concerns the status of Intelligent Design and the teaching of evolutionary theory in public schools. The controversy is primarily political, motivated by deeply held feelings about identity. A discourse analysis using network modeling was applied to newspaper coverage of the controversy from September to December 2005, around the time of the Dover trial (Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District). The present study investigated how newspaper coverage of the trial framed the controversy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

The Conflict over Origins: A Discourse Analysis of the Creationism Controversy in American Newspapers

Shortell

2011

Mass Communication and Society

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“…In all studies, we tested whether effects were due to Christianity or other religious beliefs. It has been assumed that public support for IDT results from a Christian desire to reinstate Creationism [28] . Furthermore, studies have shown that MS promotes increased belief in supernatural beings and the afterlife among religious individuals [15] , [29] , and that religiosity protects against existential threat [14] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution

2011

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The present research examined the psychological motives underlying widespread support for intelligent design theory (IDT), a purportedly scientific theory that lacks any scientific evidence; and antagonism toward evolutionary theory (ET), a theory supported by a large body of scientific evidence. We tested whether these attitudes are influenced by IDT's provision of an explanation of life's origins that better addresses existential concerns than ET. In four studies, existential threat (induced via reminders of participants' own mortality) increased acceptance of IDT and/or rejection of ET, regardless of participants' religion, religiosity, educational background, or preexisting attitude toward evolution. Effects were reversed by teaching participants that naturalism can be a source of existential meaning (Study 4), and among natural-science students for whom ET may already provide existential meaning (Study 5). These reversals suggest that the effect of heightened mortality awareness on attitudes toward ET and IDT is due to a desire to find greater meaning and purpose in science when existential threats are activated.

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“…However, some of these works mention that there was a creationist controversy around Emmanuel College in Gateshead mainly in the year 2002. Some work exists on how creationists and debates around creationism and the theory of evolution were reported in the media (Taylor and Condit 1988;McCune 2003;Mooney and Nisbet 2005;Martin et al 2006;Rosenhouse and Branch 2006), but all of these works refer to the debate around creationism and evolution in the US context and not on how the creationism/evolution issue has been represented in the UK media or the media in other countries (see Toumey 2004).…”

Section: The Case Of Emmanuel Collegementioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Experts and the Controversy About Teaching Creation/Evolution in the UK Press

Allgaier

2009

Sci & Educ

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The issue whether creationist accounts of the origins of life should be taught in science education alongside or even instead Darwin's theory of evolution is controversial in many countries. In 2002 there was a controversy around teaching creationism in science classes at a secondary school in England. The research presented in this paper uses this controversy around teaching creationism/evolution as case study to find out more about the public representation of science education. Here it focuses on the question who the experts were that appeared in the press coverage and examines the role of scientific experts in this controversy. Expertise is a key resource in many public controversies involving science and can also have an impact on decision-making processes and on the public opinion. Also the way expert sources are presented in media accounts of socioscientific controversies can have an effect on how their credibility is perceived and the arguments being made.

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Journalism and the Debate Over Origins: Newspaper Coverage of Intelligent Design

Cited by 8 publications

References 16 publications

The Conflict over Origins: A Discourse Analysis of the Creationism Controversy in American Newspapers

The Conflict over Origins: A Discourse Analysis of the Creationism Controversy in American Newspapers

Death and Science: The Existential Underpinnings of Belief in Intelligent Design and Discomfort with Evolution

Scientific Experts and the Controversy About Teaching Creation/Evolution in the UK Press

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