TEACHERS, EVOLUTION, AND RELIGION: NO RESOLUTION IN SIGHT
We conducted a survey of 375 female students in K-12 teacher education courses regarding issues of religion and politics. We hypothesized that our respondents would accept the theory of evolution at levels at or above the general female population. We further hypothesized that religious opinions wou...
Authors: | ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage Publications
2010
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In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 2010, Volume: 51, Issue: 4, Pages: 349-365 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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Summary: | We conducted a survey of 375 female students in K-12 teacher education courses regarding issues of religion and politics. We hypothesized that our respondents would accept the theory of evolution at levels at or above the general female population. We further hypothesized that religious opinions would be strong indicators of a person's view of evolution, and that many religious students would be able to harmonize their religious faith with the theory of evolution. Our data indicate that female students in teacher education courses did not have a greater acceptance of evolution compared to the general female population as measured by the General Social Survey, and were much less accepting of evolution than women with parallel educational levels. Also, the strongly religious were much more likely to reject evolution. Specifically, strong belief in God, an exclusive view of salvation, and a literal reading of the Bible were the most statistically significant predictors of rejecting the theory of evolution. We propose that future teachers should be assisted by religious leaders and secular educators to recognize that religious faith need not be an obstacle to accepting the scientific theory of evolution. |
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ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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