Religion affects the understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory by high school students, but social and cultural factors such as nationality, attitudes towards science and household income have a greater influence, according to a study of 5,500 Brazilian and Italian students aged 14-16 years. Article about the study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Participants were asked to agree or disagree with a range of statements regarding 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 is more important than religion for accepting theories of common descent and natural selection, which, for example, was more among Italian Catholics than Brazilian Catholics, while the response sample was similar among Brazilian Catholics. and Protestants.
“The results of our study show that the broader sociocultural context influences the acceptance of evolutionary theory. [Charles] Darwin and included in the school curriculum,” said Nelio Bizzo, the latest author of the article, Agência FAPESP. Bizzo is Professor at the School of Education of the University of São Paulo (FE-USP) and the Institute of Environment, 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 a study that was part of the Thematic Project on Biodiversity Inclusion in the School Curriculum, carried out under the auspices of the FAPESP Research Program on Characterization, Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use biodiversity (BIOTA-FAPESP).
“We wanted to explore in more depth the clash between religion and evolution because we needed to study the mechanisms of evolution in order to understand biodiversity and its conservation. They are interconnected. Students will better understand the effects of species extinctions 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.
Truth or lie
Analysis of responses to statements such as “Our planet formed about 4.5 billion years ago”, “Human beings evolved from other primate species” and “Fossils show creatures that lived in the past”, among other things, pointed to patterns. greater or lesser recognition by students.
The results showed a more frequent acceptance of the theory of evolution by Italian Catholics. The reaction pattern of 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 geological time. Indeed, the gap was greater than the difference in views between Catholics and Protestants in Brazil. Italian Catholics were more accepting of evolution and understood it better than Brazilian Catholics.
The acceptance of evolution was mainly influenced by nationality, education system, income and other socio-economic variables, family cultural capital, and society’s attitude towards scientific knowledge in general.
“Both countries are predominantly Catholic, but there are significant social and cultural differences related to complex factors such as education,” Bizzo said.
He added that despite the meager data, polls by the American think tank Pew Research Center confirm that the rejection of evolution is not widespread or deeply rooted in Italian society. “The same cannot be said for Brazil,” he said. “Another Pew study recently showed that creationism is on the rise among adults in Brazil, and the acceptance of evolution by Christians in Brazil is much lower. [51%] than in Italy [74%].”
The acceptance of the theory of evolution has been explored in many studies in recent decades, as it is considered a necessary condition for a better understanding of the topic. “Our study was not about whether people understand evolution. It went even further by analyzing the acceptance that is necessary to achieve understanding. If you don’t accept the idea of thinking about a subject, your understanding is inevitably compromised.” – Bizzo. said.
Secular textbooks
In light of these findings, the researchers suggest that school textbooks on Darwin’s evolutionary theories supplied by the São Paulo State Department of Education should not refer to the biblical account of God’s creation in Genesis, which Christians and Jews consider sacred.
“Many textbooks apparently consider religion itself to be the most important factor when considering evolution, which leads to Darwin’s theory being confused with the Genesis narrative. Our research shows that this is not true. From a theoretical point of view, we could argue with some points regarding the secularity of the state, but our study has nothing to do with this. It shows that one should not assume that religion should be included in any explanation of evolution, because otherwise students will not accept it,” Bizzo said.
Saved by methodology
On the contrary, previous research, including large-scale surveys of more than 6,000 European schoolchildren, has shown that religion is a key reason for the rejection of the theory of evolution by secondary school students. The contrast may reflect methodological differences, according to Bizzo, who explained that most research on the topic uses Likert scale questionnaires, commonly used in customer satisfaction surveys.
This methodology usually offers five response options. For example, in response to a statement that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, the options are likely to be: Strongly Agree, Partially Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Partially Disagree, Strongly Disagree.
“The problem is that the tool used [the Likert scale] assigns an inaccurate number to statements about scientific facts. Differences in responses may lead to inaccuracies in totaling scores. For this reason, in such a questionnaire it is better to offer the options “Yes” or “No”, “True” or “False,” he said.
Moreover, he continued, the Likert scale should not be used in scientific research. “We have found that when you present a recognizable scientific statement, such as “Vaccines are good for your health,” those who disagree know that they disagree with the scientific discovery, just as those who agree realize that they position themselves in favor of science,” Bizzo said.
Another methodological problem is the issue of anonymity in research on sensitive topics such as religion. “Polls and surveys with religious overtones, especially in conservative contexts, should be conducted in such a way as to avoid what the literature calls “social desirability”, where respondents know what is expected of them and try to live up to these expectations, instead of say exactly what they think. Social expectations may have contributed to the inaccuracies of the measurements made by these various studies,” he said.
Additional Information:
Graciela da Silva Oliveira et al. High school student acceptance of the theory of evolution: is religion a key factor?, PLOS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929
Quote: Religion is not the factor that most influences rejection of evolutionary theory in schools, says study (2022, Dec. 14), retrieved Dec. 15, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-12- religion-factor-evolutionary-theory. -schools.html
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