A recent survey conducted in PLOS ONE, involving 5,500 Brazilian and Italian students aged 14-16, found that religion does play a role in influencing students' understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory, but other factors such as nationality, perceptions of science, and household income have a greater influence.
Nationality, social perceptions of science, and household income were more influential than religion, according to a survey conducted in Brazil and Italy aged 14-16.
According to a survey involving 5,500 Brazilian and Italian youngsters aged 14-16, religion plays a role in secondary school students' understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory.
Nationality was more important than religion to the acceptance of theories on common ancestry and natural selection, while the pattern of responses was similar between Brazilian Catholics and Protestants.
Nelio Bizzo, the last author of the piece, told Agência FAPESP that the survey found that acceptance of evolutionary theory is influenced by a wider socio-cultural context.
The study was carried out by researchers from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT) in Brazil and the University of Trento in Italy. It was funded by FAPESP for issues related to the inclusion of biodiversity in the school curriculum and was funded under the aegis of FAPESP's Research Program on Biodiversity Characterization, Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainable Use (BIOTA-FAPESP).
“We wanted to investigate in more depth the connection between religion and evolution. We needed to investigate the mechanisms of evolution in order to understand biodiversity and its conservation,” Bizzo said. Such concepts as common ancestry, natural selection, and the origin of species will help students understand their environmental consequences.
Analysis of responses to such statements as "Our planet was formed about 4.5 billion years ago," "Humans are descendent from other primate species," and "Fossils are evidence of beings that lived in the past," among others, revealed patterns of greater or lesser acceptance by students.
Italian Catholics accepted evolution more often, according to the findings. The reaction pattern of Brazilian Catholics was similar to that of Brazilian non-Catholic Christians (Protestants from many denominations).
According to the article, Italian and Brazilian Catholics differed greatly in their understanding of geological time. The difference was larger than the difference between the views of Catholics and Protestants in Brazil.
Nationality, education system, income, and other socio-economic variables influenced acceptance of evolution, as well as society's preferences for scientific knowledge in general.
"Both countries have Catholic majorities, yet there are significant social and cultural differences linked to complex factors such as education," Bizzo said.
"The same cannot be said about Brazil," said a Pew research Center study that found creationism to be on the rise among adults in Brazil [51 percent] compared to Italy [74 percent."
Acceptance of evolution is a key ingredient in many research in recent decades, since it is necessary to understand a subject. "Our study went a step further by analyzing acceptance, which is necessary to comprehend a topic," Bizzo said.
Researchers argue that the schools supplied by the South American State Department of Education on Darwin's evolutionary theories should not make reference to the Bible's account of God's creation in Genesis, which is revered by Christians and Jews alike.
"Many textbooks imply that religion is the most important factor in addressing evolution, leading to Darwin's theory being intermingled with the Genesis narrative, which is untrue." Bizzo said the study shows that religion shouldn't be included in any inquiry into evolution.
According to Bizzo, previous research involving more than 6,000 European students found religion to be the primary reason for rejecting evolution by secondary school pupils. This approach typically offers five responses, such as Agree completely, Agree somewhat, Neither agree nor disagree, or Disagree somewhat.
"The problem is that the instrument used [the Likert scale] assigns an imprecise number to scientific findings. The variation in the answers can lead to imprecision when the scores are added up," says the author.
Moreover, the Likert scale should not be used in scientific discussions, according to Bizzo.
Another methodological issue is the anonymity in religious research, for example. "Surveys and polls with religious implications should be conducted in a manner that avoids what the literature calls'social desirability,' where respondents know what's expected of them and attempt to fulfill it rather than stating what they believe."
Graciela da Silva Oliveira, Giuseppe Pellegrini, Leonardo Augusto Luvison Arajo, and Nelio Bizzo, [Journal.pone.0273929], DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273929.