PLOS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929">
The area of the small polygon corresponds to the expected result if all Christians in both countries had similar answers. The blue polygon shows larger differences between Catholics in both countries than differences between the two groups of Christians in the same country (Brazil). Recognition: PLUS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929
Religion influences the understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution among secondary school students, but social and cultural factors such as nationality, perceptions of science, and household income are more influential, according to a study of 5,500 Brazilian and Italian students aged 14 to 16. An article about the study will be published in the journal PLUS ONE.
Participants were asked to agree or disagree with a number of statements related to the age of the earth, the importance of fossils, and human origins, among others. When the researchers analyzed the results, they concluded that nationality was more relevant to acceptance of theories of common ancestry and natural selection than religion, which was greater among Italian Catholics than Brazilian Catholics, for example, while the response pattern among Brazilian was similar to Catholics and Protestants.
“The results of our survey show that a broader sociocultural context influences acceptance of the theory of evolution. Conservative societies like Brazil tend to be more reluctant to the evolutionary ideas put forward by [Charles] Darwin and included in the school curriculum,” Nelio Bizzo, last author of the article, told Agência FAPESP. Bizzo is a professor at the School of Education (FE-USP) at the University of São Paulo and at the Institute for Environment at the Federal University of São Paulo, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (ICAQF-UNIFESP) in Brazil.
Scientists from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) in Brazil and the University of Trento in Italy collaborated on the study, which was part of a thematic project on issues related to the inclusion of biodiversity in the school curriculum, conducted under the auspices of FAPESP’s Characterization, Conservation research program , Restoration and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (BIOTA-FAPESP).
“We wanted to study the conflict between religion and evolution in more detail because we needed to study the mechanisms of evolution to understand biodiversity and its conservation. They are related. Students will better understand the consequences of a species becoming extinct, or local and global extinctions, for example, if they are familiar with concepts such as common ancestry, natural selection and the origin of species,” Bizzo said.
Right or wrong
Analysis of responses to statements such as “Our planet formed about 4.5 billion years ago,” “Humans descended from other primate species,” and “Fossils are evidence of beings that lived in the past,” among others pattern towards more or less acceptance among the students.
The results showed a higher acceptance of evolution by Italian Catholics. The pattern of response from Brazilian Catholics most closely resembled that of Brazilian non-Catholic Christians (Protestants of various denominations).
According to the article, Italian and Brazilian Catholics differed significantly in their understanding of geologic time. In fact, the gap was larger than the difference between the views of Catholics and Protestants in Brazil. Italian Catholics were more accepting and understood of evolution than Brazilian Catholics.
Acceptance of evolution was mainly influenced by nationality, educational system, income and other socioeconomic variables, family cultural capital, and society’s attitude towards scientific knowledge in general.
“Both countries have Catholic majorities, but there are major social and cultural differences linked to complex factors such as education,” Bizzo said.
Though little data is available, he added, polls by the Pew Research Center, a US-based think tank, confirm that opposition to evolution is not generalized or ingrained in Italian society. “You can’t say the same about Brazil,” he said. “Another study by Pew recently showed that creationism is on the rise among adults in Brazil and acceptance of evolution is significantly lower among Christians in Brazil [51%] than in Italy [74%].”
The acceptance of the theory of evolution has been examined in many studies in recent decades because it is considered a prerequisite for a better understanding of the subject. “Our study was not about whether people understood evolution. She went a step further by analyzing the acceptance that is necessary to achieve understanding. If you don’t accept the idea of thinking about an issue, your understanding will inevitably be compromised,” Bizzo said.
Secular Textbooks
Given these findings, the researchers suggest that school textbooks on Darwin’s theories of evolution provided by the São Paulo State Education Ministry should not refer to the biblical account of God’s creation in Genesis, which is sacred to Christians and Jews alike.
“Many textbooks apparently think that religion alone is the most important factor when it comes to evolution, leading to Darwin’s theory being mixed up with the Genesis narrative. Our study shows that this is wrong. Our study has nothing to do with this. What it shows is that you shouldn’t assume that religion has to be included in any account of evolution or students wouldn’t accept it,” Bizzo said.
Saved by methodology
In contrast, previous research, including large-scale surveys of more than 6,000 European students, has found that religion is the main reason behind secondary school students’ rejection of evolution. The contrast may reflect methodological differences, according to Bizzo, who explained that most studies on the subject involve Likert-scale questionnaires, which are commonly used in customer satisfaction surveys.
This methodology typically offers five answer options. In response to the statement that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, the options would likely be: “strongly agree”, “partially agree”, “neither agree nor disagree”, “rather disagree”. ‘, ‘Don’t agree at all’.
“The problem is the instrument used [the Likert scale] assigns an imprecise number to statements of scientific fact. The variation in the answers can lead to inaccuracies in the addition of the points. For this reason, it is better to offer Yes or No or True or False options in this type of questionnaire,” he said.
Also, the Likert scale should not be used in studies on scientific subjects. “We have found that when you present a recognizable scientific statement like ‘vaccines are good for your health’, those who disagree know they disagree with a scientific finding, just as those who agree know that they are positioning themselves for science,” Bizzo said.
Another methodological problem is the question of anonymity in studies on sensitive topics such as religion. “Polls and polls with religious implications, particularly in conservative contexts, should be conducted in a manner that avoids what the literature calls ‘social desirability’, where respondents know what is expected of them and seek to meet that expectation , instead of saying exactly what they think. Social expectations may have contributed to the inaccuracy of the measurements in these different studies,” he said.
More information:
Graciela da Silva Oliveira et al, Acceptance of Evolution by High School Students: Is Religion the Key Factor?, PLUS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929
Citation: Religion is not the factor most influencing the rejection of the theory of evolution in schools, the study says (2022, December 14), retrieved December 14, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-12- religion-factor-evolutionary-theory-schulen.html
This document is protected by copyright. Except for fair trade for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is for informational purposes only.
Source link