Abstract
BackgroundAcceptance of evolutionary theory varies widely and is often associated with religious background. Some have suggested there exists an additional relationship between scientific reasoning ability and the acceptance of evolutionary theory. In this study, we used structural equation modeling to test whether scientific reasoning ability predicts religiosity, acceptance of creationist views, or acceptance of evolution. We administered internet-based surveys to 724 individuals nationwide who self-describe as being religious and built a structural-equation model to test predictive abilities.ResultsWe found that while religiosity positively predicts the acceptance of creationist views and negatively predicts the acceptance of evolution, scientific reasoning ability does not predict religiosity, acceptance of creationist views, or acceptance of evolutionary theory.ConclusionsWith a lack of any relationship between scientific reasoning ability and acceptance, an approach to evolution education that focuses on appealing to scientific reasoning may prove fruitless in changing student attitudes toward evolution; alternative teaching approaches regarding evolution are warranted.
Highlights
Acceptance of evolutionary theory varies widely and is often associated with religious background
Statistical results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Exploratory factor analysis rendered three factors from our religious measure with eigenvalues above 1 that explained over 5% of the variance seen in the data
The remaining measures, creationist views, scientific reasoning and evolution acceptance, each resulted in only one factor with an eigenvalue higher than 1 that explained more than 5% of the variance
Summary
Acceptance of evolutionary theory varies widely and is often associated with religious background. Some have suggested there exists an additional relationship between scientific reasoning ability and the acceptance of evolutionary theory. We used structural equation modeling to test whether scientific reasoning ability predicts religiosity, acceptance of creationist views, or acceptance of evolution. We administered internet-based surveys to 724 individuals nationwide who self-describe as being religious and built a structural-equation model to test predictive abilities. Since Darwin, decades of scientific work have supported the validity of evolutionary theory (e.g., Daeschler et al 2006; Dobzhansky and Pavlovsky 1957; Grant and Grant 2002; Haldane 1957; Ostrom 1976; Theobald 2010). For individuals who have a strong religious background, science instructors may face difficulty overcoming these barriers using existing
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