Evolution Controversy: A Phenomenon Prompted by the Incompatibility between Science and Religious Beliefs

Abstract

The incompatibility between science and the belief in supernatural causation helps us understand why people do not accept evolution. Belief disrupts, distorts, delays, or stops (3Ds + S) the acceptance of scientific evidence. Here we examine the evolution controversy under three predictions of the incompatibility hypothesis. First, chronological-conflict-and-accommodation, which explains the historical re-emergence of antagonism between evolution and religion when advances in science continue to threaten the belief in supernatural causation; in such situations, creationists’ rejection of and subsequent partial acceptance of the new scientific discoveries are expected. Second, change in evolution's acceptance as function of educational attainment, which explains the positive association between acceptance of evolution and level of education. And third, change in evolution's acceptance as function of religiosity, which explains the negative association between acceptance of evolution and level of religious beliefs. We rely on an ample assessment of the attitudes toward evolution by highly-educated audiences (i.e. research faculty, educators of prospective teachers, and college students in the United States) to characterize the associations among the understanding of science and evolution, personal religious convictions, and conservative ideology. We emphasize that harmonious coexistence between science and religion is illusory. If co-persisting in society, their relationship will fluctuate from moderate to intense antagonism.

Which question do polls about evolution and belief really ask, and why does it matter?

“… 2. Our points concerning the IPSOS study may also be relevant to other works that attempt to draw strong claims about the connections between responses to various questions about belief in God and beliefs about evolution such as Coyne (2012) and Paz-y-Miño-C and Espinosa (2015). In this article, we do not consider the question of the compatibility between a belief in evolution and a belief in religion as these authors do.…”

Longtime Nemeses or Cordial Allies? How Individuals Mentally Relate Science and Religion

“…C. Quinn et al, 2020;Reynolds, 2014;Wombwell et al, 2015), and the prevention of infectious diseases (Hill et al, 2020;. This divide has led to the notion that conflict exists between science and religion and is supported by survey research indicating that religious individuals generally believe that science conflicts with their religious beliefs (E. Chan, 2018;Gauchat, 2008;Paz-y-Miño-C & Espinosa, 2015). Some prominent scientists have also doubted whether science and religion can be reconciled.…”

The understanding of male and female students on the basic concepts of evolution

“…In biology, evolution is the most debated topic (Paz-Y-Miño-C & Espinosa, 2015). Many people do not accept the theory of evolution.…”