Atheistic Definitions of Evolution Exacerbate Rejection of Evolution Among Religious Students

• In Event: Beliefs and Reasoning in Biology Learning

Abstract

In this study, we replicated past research that show students’ religiosity predicts low levels of acceptance of evolution. However, we also found that the presence of student misconceptions about the nature of science, particularly that evolution disproves the existence of God/god(s), moderated the relationship between student religiosity and student acceptance of evolution. Among students who held the misconception that evolution disproves the existence of God/god(s) the negative relationship between their religiosity and acceptance was much greater than among students who did not hold this misconception. This study suggests that correcting students’ misconceptions about what evolution illustrates and does not illustrate about the existence of God/god(s) may increase acceptance of evolution, particularly among religious students.

Authors

• Elizabeth Barnes, Arizona State University

• Gale M. Sinatra, University of Southern California

• Sara Brownell, Arizona State University