A survey of 5,500 Brazilian and Italian schoolchildren aged 14-16 found that nationality, social perception of science and family income were more influential than religion.
The findings are published in PLANE ONE
Religion influences high school students' understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory, but social and cultural factors such as nationality, perception of science and family income are more influential, according to a study of 5,500 Brazilian and Italian students aged 14-16 years. An article about the study was published in the journal PLANE ONE
Participants were asked to agree or disagree with a series of statements related to the age of the Earth, the importance of fossils, and human origins, among other topics. When the researchers analyzed the results, they concluded that nationality was more relevant than religion for acceptance of the theories of common descent and natural selection, which was greater among Catholics in Italy than, for example, Catholics in Brazil, while the pattern of responses was similar among Brazilian Catholics and Protestants.
“The results of our survey show that acceptance of evolutionary theory is influenced by the broader socio-cultural context. Conservative societies such as Brazil are more hostile to evolutionary ideas proposed by [ Charles ] Darwin and included in the school curriculum,” Nelio Bizzo, the last author of the article, told FAPESP. Bizzo is a professor at the School of Education of the University of São Paulo (FE-USP) and the Institute of Environmental, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Federal University of São Paulo (ICAQF-UNIFESP) in Brazil.
Scientists from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) in Brazil and the University of Trento in Italy collaborated on a study that was part of a FAPESP-supported thematic project on issues related to the inclusion of biodiversity in the school curriculum and was carried out under the auspices of the FAPESP Characterization Research Program , conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity (BIOTA-FAPESP).
“We wanted to explore the collision between religion and evolution more deeply because we needed to investigate the mechanisms of evolution to understand biodiversity and its conservation. They are relatives. Students will better understand the consequences of species extinctions or local and global extinctions, for example, if they are familiar with concepts such as common descent, natural selection and the origin of species,” Bizzo said.
True or false
Analysis of responses to statements such as “Our planet formed about 4.5 billion years ago,” “Humans are descended from other primate species,” and “Fossils are evidence of creatures that lived in the past,” among others, showed the model more or less accepted by students.
The results showed a more frequent acceptance of evolution by Italian Catholics. The reaction of Brazilian Catholics most resembled the reaction of Brazilian non-Catholic Christians (Protestants of various denominations).
As the article states, Italian and Brazilian Catholics differed significantly in their understanding of geological time. Indeed, the gap was greater than the difference between the views of Catholics and Protestants in Brazil. Italian Catholics were more accepting of evolution and also understood it better than Brazilian Catholics.
Acceptance of evolution was influenced mainly by ethnicity, education system, income and other socio-economic variables, family cultural capital and society's attitude towards scientific knowledge in general.
“Both countries have a Catholic majority, but there are major social and cultural differences linked to complex factors such as education,” Bizzo said.
Although scanty data are available, he added, studies by the Pew Research Center, a think tank based in the United States, confirm that the rejection of evolution is not generalized or deeply rooted in Italian society. “The same cannot be said for Brazil,” he said. “Another study by the author I drink recently showed that creationism is on the rise among adults in Brazil, while acceptance of evolution by Christians in Brazil is much lower [ ] than in Italy [ ].”
Acceptance of the theory of evolution has been investigated in many studies over the past decades because it is considered a prerequisite for a better understanding of the subject. “Our research was not about whether people understand evolution. He went further by analyzing the acceptance that is necessary to achieve understanding. If you don't accept the idea of thinking about the subject, your understanding will inevitably be compromised,” Bizzo said.
Secular textbooks
In light of these findings, the researchers suggest that school textbooks on Darwin's theories of evolution, issued by the Department of Education of the state of São Paulo, should not refer to the biblical account of God's creation in the book of Genesis, which is considered sacred to both Christians and Jews.
“Many textbooks seem to believe that religion alone is the most important factor when considering the theory of evolution, resulting in Darwin's theory being conflated with the Genesis account. Our research shows that this is wrong. From a theoretical point of view, we could argue some points about the secularity of the state, but our research has nothing to do with that. This suggests that one cannot assume that religion must be included in any account of evolution, because otherwise students will not accept it,” Bizzo said.
Methodology saved
In contrast, previous studies, including large-scale surveys of more than 6,000 European students, have found that religion is the main reason high school students reject evolution. The contrast may reflect methodological differences, according to Bizzo, who explained that most research on the topic involves Likert-scale questionnaires, which are widely used in customer satisfaction surveys. This methodology usually offers five response options. For example, in response to the statement that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the options are likely to be: Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Strongly Disagree.
“The problem is what tool is used [ the Likert scale ] assigns inaccurate numbers to statements about scientific facts. Variations in responses may lead to inaccuracies in scoring. Therefore, it is better to offer the options “Yes” or “No”, “True” and “Lie” in a questionnaire of this kind, he said.
Also, he continued, Likert scales should not be used in research on scientific topics. “We found that when you present a cognitive science statement, such as ‘Vaccines are good for your health,' those who disagree know that they are disagreeing with the scientific conclusion, just as those who agree know that they are taking a position himself for the benefit of science,” Bitso said.
Another methodological issue is the issue of anonymity in research on sensitive topics such as, for example, religion. “Surveys and polls with religious undertones, especially in conservative contexts, should be conducted in a way that avoids what the literature calls ‘social desirability,' where respondents know what is expected of them and try to meet those expectations instead of accurately say what they think. Social expectations may have contributed to the inaccuracies in the measurements made by these different studies,” he said.
Reference: “High School Students' Acceptance of Evolution: Is Religion a Key Factor?” Graciela da Silva Oliveira, Giuseppe Pellegrini, Leonardo Augusto Luvison Araujo and Nelia Bizzo, 19 September 2022, PLANE ONE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929
https://scitechdaily.com/surprising-research-reveals-religion-is-not-the-main-reason-for-rejection-of-evolution-in-schools/ A surprising study shows that religion is not the main reason for rejecting evolution in schools