Managing the Conflict between Evolution &amp; Religion

Meadows, Lee; Doster, Elizabeth C.; Jackson, David

doi:10.2307/4450848

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…A way that evolution instructors may be able to reduce students’ perceived conflict between evolution and belief in God is to discuss that evolution is not necessarily atheistic and that students do not have to reject a belief in God in order to accept evolution. Biologists and science education researchers have written extensively about the conflation of evolution acceptance with atheism ( Smith, 1994 ; Miller, 1999 ; Meadows et al. , 2000 ; Scott, 2005 ; Collins, 2006 ; Reiss, 2009 ; Gould, 2011 ; Southerland and Scharmann, 2013 ; Tolman et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity

Barnes

Supriya

Zheng

et al. 2021

LSE

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity

Barnes

Supriya

Zheng

et al. 2021

LSE

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“…The negative correlation between personal religious faith and someone's attitude can be attributed to individuals' beliefs shaping the lens through which information such as Aptyka and Großschedl Evolution: Education and Outreach (2022) 15:16 scientific evidence is filtered (Glaze 2013). If individuals perceive a conflict between their fundamental religious beliefs and scientific explanations of evolution, they will probably reject the latter (Glaze 2013;Köse 2010;Meadows et al 2000). Consequently, religious pre-service teachers are more likely to reject evolution in their classrooms (Deniz and Sahin 2016;Graf and Soran 2010;Großschedl et al 2014).…”

Section: Personal Religious Faithmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This educational method could additionally involve creating awareness of a possible intuitive cognitive bias (Barnes and Brownell 2017;Hermann 2013). Individuals with a negative attitude toward teaching evolution could benefit from educational programs that discuss and reflect on multifaceted perspectives and strengthen teachers' cultural competence (Barnes and Brownell 2017;Brem et al 2003;Brownell et al 2018;Meadows et al 2000).…”

Section: Practical Implications For Teacher Education and Further Pro...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing pre-service biology teachers’ intention to teach evolution using the theory of planned behavior

Aptyka

Großschedl

2022

Evo Edu Outreach

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Background Even though evolution is the overarching principle that connects all areas of biology, a significant proportion of pre-service teachers do not intend to teach evolution, minimize the teaching of evolution, or teach alternative ideas in biology classes. To prevent adverse teaching practices and promote effective pre-service teacher education, we aimed to identify and analyze variables that foster or hinder their behavioral intentions to teach evolution. Method We adopted a behavioral psychology research perspective and developed a research model based on the theory of planned behavior to examine behavioral intentions for teaching evolution in biology classrooms. We extended the model with additional variables that have been delineated by teacher education research as essential determinants for the behavioral intention to teach evolution. We proposed several hypotheses suggesting that the attitude toward teaching evolution, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal religious faith, perceived usefulness, and knowledge about evolution determine a person’s behavioral intention. We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional study in teacher education to test the hypotheses and surveyed N = 339 pre-service biology teachers using an online questionnaire. We analyzed the data using a two-stage structural equation model. Results We were able to confirm all proposed hypotheses. The most important results revealed that pre-service teachers’ knowledge about and perceived usefulness of evolution are only moderately pronounced. Moreover, the subjective norm is a predictor not only of behavioral intention but also of the attitude toward teaching evolution. The variable of perceived behavior control partly moderates the relationship between knowledge about evolution and behavioral intention. Additionally, perceived usefulness is an important and marginally stronger predictor of a person’s attitude than personal religious faith. Conclusion The extended model of the theory of planned behavior has highlighted the need for educational programs to increase knowledge about and the perceived usefulness of evolution even stronger. The findings delineated the effects of essential determinants on behavioral intentions and provided information about the necessary levers of teacher education.

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“…Most researchers agree that it is important to acknowledge the existence of diverse perceptions among students about the relationship between science and religion [16,17]. Such an acknowledgment may reinforce students' trust in science educators, increasing their willingness and motivation to learn about scientific topics they view as controversial or cause for conflict [18,19]. Moreover, explicit discussions about the tension between science and religion, particularly in the context of evolution, may help students bridge the apparent gap between religious and scientific perceptions, thus reducing their resistance to learning about evolution [7,[20][21][22].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Let’s Talk about It”—Explicit Discussions as a Way to Reduce the Resistance of Religious Jewish Science Teachers to Learning and Teaching about Evolution: A Case Study

2020

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Acknowledging the diverse perceptions about science–religion relationships among learners who come from various religious environments may increase learners’ willingness to learn about evolution. This study is based on a zoology course designed for in-service teachers, which aimed to provide basic scientific knowledge about evolution using the Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education framework. The study explores whether learners who were resistant to evolution modify their attitudes and willingness to learn about it, and whether they develop respect toward learners who hold contradicting views. Using qualitative methods, the findings indicate that using the Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education framework increased some formerly “resistant” learners’ willingness to learn about evolution and include it in their own teaching, albeit in varying degrees and with various reservations. The learners appreciated the freedom to express their challenges concerning evolution learning or teaching and became more willing to respect opposing perspectives, even though not all the religious learners accepted evolution as an explanation for the development of organisms. This study has international implications for bridging the gap between science and religion, thus reducing resistance to learning and teaching about evolution.

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Managing the Conflict between Evolution & Religion

Cited by 21 publications

References 1 publication

A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity

A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity

Analyzing pre-service biology teachers’ intention to teach evolution using the theory of planned behavior

“Let’s Talk about It”—Explicit Discussions as a Way to Reduce the Resistance of Religious Jewish Science Teachers to Learning and Teaching about Evolution: A Case Study

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