Exploring the Relationship between Science, Religion & Attitudes toward Evolution Education

Abstract

While some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution, we strongly contend that highlighting faith-evolution compatibility is much more effective. This article describes a professional development event for science teachers and religious educators highlighting ways to teach human evolution using a science inquiry approach coupled with methods for helping students reconcile science and religion. Since many science teachers in our population face a highly religious student body, are religious themselves, and have religious education integrated into the school system, we asked them to invite the religious educators (i.e., seminary teachers) at their schools to join them at the event. In addition, a group of religious educator faculty members from the local university joined the event. We collected data both before and after intervention. Results showed that the event strengthened understanding of the intersection between evolution and religion for this particular faith group, decreased feelings of conflict in participants themselves, and increased their confidence and comfort level in offering reconciliation to students and designing lesson plans that include human examples of evolution. Differential impacts on each group of participants are discussed in terms of what we can apply to efforts like this going forward.

Dayah Modern: Pengembangan Kurikulum Pendidikan Agama Islam Di Pesantren Terpadu Serta Relevansinya Dengan Sejarah Pendidikan Islam Di Aceh

“…Pendidikan Islam modern/ terpadu (khalaf) adalah pendidikan yang mengimplementasikan metode pembelajaran yang memadukan metode belajar Pendidikan Agama Islam tradisional (salaf) dengan keilmuan umum sehingga mencapai keterpaduan dalam aplikasi belajar yang kondusif. Namun demikian, pendidikan Islam modern/terpadu tidak hanya berupaya mengawinkan pendidikan agama dan ilmu pengetahuan umum dalam satu kurikulum saja (Kaloi, Hopper, & et al, 2022). Lebih jauh, pendidikan Islam modern hendak membentuk persepsi baru masyarakat terkait dikotomi ilmu dan keterbukaan umat Islam pada khazanah ilmu pengetahuan mutakhir.…”

Racial misconceptions of the theory of evolution predict opposition to the theory and science in general among a sample of Zimbabwean university students

“…Important to note, mistaken evolutionary ideas are driven by and simultaneously have far reaching implications on a lot of philosophical and sociocultural issues. Kaloi et al (2022) [ 11 ] aptly argue that although sound knowledge of evolution chips away at the misconceptions that often characterize its comprehension, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of the theory is often murky, influenced as it is by a litany of other numerous, diverse and complex factors which operate both in formal classroom settings and informal settings in society. These include young earth creationism and intelligent design movements, which have their roots mainly in religion [ 12 ] and political ideologies [ 13 ].…”

“…For instance, within the Judeo-Christian Religions, literal interpretations of the Bible are very likely to lead to anti-evolutionary ideas [ 21 , 43 , 44 ]. As Kaloi et al (2022) [ 11 ] point out, for many individuals who hold such beliefs, learning facts pertaining to evolution usually does not suffice for them to embrace it, as they perceive it as antithetical and a threat to their religion [ 45 ]. Such is the hold of the metaphysical beliefs on individuals that authors like Tolman et al (2020) [ 46 ] suggest a deliberate reconciliation between biology and theology.…”