Pulpits Versus Ivory Towers: Socializing Agents and Evolution Attitudes^*

Abstract

Although debate concerning the theory of evolution is part of an ongoing U.S. dialogue over the proper role of religion in society, academics have provided little in the way of systematic understanding of public opinion on this issue. Important questions, such as the relative influence of socializing agents-religion and education-in shaping attitudes on evolution remain unanswered. Building on socialization and cognitive accessibility theories, we offer a framework for predicting public opinion on human origins and the teaching of evolution in public schools. Copyright (c) 2008 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Homosexuality, Religion, and Science: Moral Authority and the Persistence of Negative Attitudes*

“…Rather, individuals will take positions against institutional science only on matters marking symbolic and cultural boundaries such as evolution (Evans 2011) and homosexuality (Keeter, Smith, and Masci 2011). Views toward topics such as evolution and creationism should be telling concerning perceptions of epistemic authority, especially regarding the tendency to give priority to the positions of conservative religious communities over the claims of institutional science (Ellison and Musick 1995; Haider‐Markel and Joslyn 2008b).…”

Rejection of Darwinian Evolution Among Churchgoers in England: The Effects of Psychological Type

“…There is growing evidence that church affiliation is related to psychological type (Craig et al ; Francis, Craig, and Butler ; Francis et al ; Francis, Robbins, and Craig ; Robbins and Francis ; Village ; Village, Baker, and Howat ), so controlling for tradition was important in order to see if psychological type was linked to rejection of evolution directly, or indirectly through denominational affiliation. Education is known to be related to beliefs about evolution in some church groups, but not others (Eckberg ; Ha, Haury, and Nehm ; Haider‐Markel and Joslyn ) and education levels may vary between denominations, so controlling for education was also important.…”

Rejecting Darwin and Support for Science Funding

“…The intensity of the debate has fluctuated over the years (Larson, ), but poll data and popular commentary suggest that the degree of controversy is currently high (Masci, ). The U.S. public's attitudes toward origins of life issues have been the topic of relatively little academic research (Haider‐Markel and Joslyn, ). Existing studies have focused on the predictors of beliefs toward evolution (Bishop, ; Freeman and Houston, ; Haider‐Markel and Joslyn, ), examinations of attitudes across time (Plutzer and Berkman, ), or analysis of survey questions to assess the extent to which question wording affects responses (Bishop, ).…”

“…The U.S. public's attitudes toward origins of life issues have been the topic of relatively little academic research (Haider‐Markel and Joslyn, ). Existing studies have focused on the predictors of beliefs toward evolution (Bishop, ; Freeman and Houston, ; Haider‐Markel and Joslyn, ), examinations of attitudes across time (Plutzer and Berkman, ), or analysis of survey questions to assess the extent to which question wording affects responses (Bishop, ). There has been little examination of why beliefs regarding the origins of life matter in U.S. politics other than a discussion of how the conflict has affected science education in the public schools (Berkman et al, ).…”