Religion influences secondary school students' understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory, but social and cultural factors such as nationality, perceptions of science and household income are more influential. There is an article in the journal.
The participants were asked to agree or disagree with statements regarding Earth's age, the significance of fossils, and the origin of human beings. Nationality was more relevant to acceptance of theories on common ancestry and natural selection among Italian Catholics than Brazilian Catholics, for example, while the pattern of answers was the same among Brazilian Catholics and Protestants.
A survey shows that a broader socio-cultural context influences acceptance of evolutionary theory. Nelio Bizzo, the last author of the article, said that Brazil is averse to Darwin's ideas. Bizzo is a professor at the University of So Paulo's School of Education and the Federal University of So Paulo's Institute of Environmental, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
The Federal University of Mato Grosso in Brazil and the University of Trento in Italy collaborated on a study about the inclusion of biodiversity in the school curriculum.
In order to understand the mechanisms of evolution, we needed to investigate the clash between religion and evolution more deeply. They're related in one way or another. If students are familiar with concepts such as common ancestry, natural selection and the origin of species, they will understand the consequences of extinction.
It's either true or false.
The formation of our planet occurred some 4.5 billion years ago, Humans are descended from other primate species, and fossils are evidence of beings that lived in the past were some of the responses analyzed.
The results show that evolution is accepted more frequently by Italian Catholics. Brazilian non-Catholic Christians had a similar pattern of response.
The Italian and Brazilian Catholics differed in their understanding of geological time. The difference between the views of Catholics and Protestants in Brazil was much larger. Italian Catholics were more accepting of evolution than Brazilian Catholics.
Nationality, the educational system, income and other socio- economic variables, family cultural capital, and society's attitudes toward scientific knowledge were some of the factors that influenced acceptance of evolution.
There are major social and cultural differences between the two countries.
He said that surveys by the Pew Research Center, a United States-based think tank, show that the rejection of evolution is not generalized or deeply ingrained in Italian society. He said that the same could not be said about Brazil. Creationism is on the rise among adults in Brazil, and acceptance of evolution by Christians in Brazil is lower than in Italy, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center.
Acceptance of the theory of evolution is considered a Prerequisite for a Better Understanding of the topic. Our study was not about evolution. Acceptance is necessary to achieve comprehension. Bizzo said that if you don't accept the idea of thinking about a topic, your understanding is compromised.
The textbooks are secular.
The researchers suggest that the school textbooks supplied by the So Paulo State Department of Education should not refer to the Bible's account of creation by God in Genesis, held sacred by Christians and Jews alike.
Many textbooks think religion is the most important factor when tackling evolution, which leads to Darwin's theory being intertwined with the narrative of Genesis. That's incorrect, according to our study. Our study doesn't have anything to do with state secularity. It shows that if students don't accept evolution, religion shouldn't be a part of it.
It was saved by methodology.
Religion was found to be the main reason for the rejection of evolution by secondary school students. According to Bizzo, most studies on this topic involve Likert-scale questionnaires, which are used in customer satisfaction surveys.
Five response options are usually offered by this methodology. In response to the statement that Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the options are Agree completely, Agree somewhat, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree somewhat, and Disagree completely.
The instrument used to assign a number to statements about science is flawed. Imprecision can occur when the scores are added up. He said that it was better to give the options Yes or No, or True or False.
The scales should not be used in studies on scientific topics. When presenting a recognizably scientific statement, such as "Vaccines are good for your health", those who disagree know they're disagreeing with a scientific finding, just as those who agree are positioning themselves in favor of science.
The question of anonymity is one of the methodological issues. In conservative contexts, surveys and polls should be conducted in such a way as to avoid what the literature calls'social desirability', where respondents know what's expected of them and try to meet that expectation instead of saying exactly what they think. He said that social expectations may have contributed to the imprecision of the measurement.
The acceptance of evolution by high school students is a topic of discussion. The journal was published in October of 2010
Journal information: PLoS ONE
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