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Evolution and personal religious belief: Christian university biology‐related majors' search for reconciliation
Author(s) -
Winslow Mark W.,
Staver John R.,
Scharmann Lawrence C.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.20417
Subject(s) - creationism , naturalism , negotiation , science education , perception , mathematics education , biological evolution , psychology , epistemology , sociology , biology , social science , philosophy , genetics
The goal of this study was to explore Christian biology‐related majors' perceptions of conflicts between evolution and their religious beliefs. This naturalistic study utilized a case study design of 15 undergraduate biology‐related majors at or recent biology‐related graduates from a mid‐western Christian university. The broad sources of data were interviews, course documents, and observations. Outcomes indicate that most participants were raised to believe in creationism, but came to accept evolution through evaluating evidence for evolution, negotiating the literalness of Genesis, recognizing evolution as a non‐salvation issue, and observing professors as Christian role models who accept evolution. This study lends heuristic insight to researchers and educators seeking to understand the complex processes by which Christian biology‐related majors approach learning about evolution. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 1026–1049, 2011