Reasons given by UK churchgoers for their stance on evolution

Abstract

A sample of 661 churchgoers from a range of Christian denominations in the United Kingdom was asked about Darwinian evolution (defined as the common origin of all species, including humans). Respondents were categorised as those who accepted the idea, those who rejected it, and those who were unsure or neutral. People in each category were given a number of statements that related to reasons why they might have held their particular stance, and responses were used to create summated rating scales. Reasons for accepting or rejecting evolution could be classified as broadly relating to the theory itself or to the religious consequences of the theory. Accepters saw the theory as rational and attractive, and one that allowed a role for God in shaping evolution. Rejecters saw the theory as unsupported by evidence and one that denied a role for God and/or contradicted Scripture. Those unsure or neutral seemed to be so because they lacked sufficient knowledge about evolution or the Bible, and/or because they were disinterested. Predicting which reasons were likely to be chosen by an individual was difficult, though there were significance differences in some cases between denominations and between those with or without education in biology or science.

Rejecting Darwinian Evolution: The Effects of Education, Church Tradition, and Individual Theological Stance among UK Churchgoers

“…Although rejection of evolution is found among some non-religious people, it is usually associated with religious beliefs, particularly with the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions. The reasons are not hard to find: the Scriptures of these traditions assign the creation of life to the active intervention of God, so rejecting evolution is partly about rejecting the idea that God had no part in creation and, by implication, no control over whether and how human beings came to be (Village and Baker 2013a).…”

Stewardship: Solution or Problem?

“…In 2009, Sylvia Baker and I did a survey of churchgoers in which we explored their beliefs about creation, interpretation of Genesis, and attitudes towards the environment. The work led to several papers (Village, 2014;Village & Baker, 2013a, 2013b and a follow up survey (Village, 2020;Village & Baker, 2018). In one paper (Village, 2015), I tested White's hypothesis by seeing if there was any relationship between how literally people interpreted Genesis and how much they were willing to make sacrifices to protect the environment.…”

Evolution Versus Creationism: A matter of acceptance versus belief

“…Evolution is rejected by many, but not all, creationists on the grounds of the idea of a common origin for all living things (Village and Baker 2013). As Mazur and Shermer show in their analyses of beliefs (Shermer 2007(Shermer , 2011Mazur 2008), evolution appears to test faith or exclude God and, in particular, it challenges the notion of humans as a special separate creation in isolation from all other living things.…”