Search

The United States still has one of the lowest evolution acceptance rates in the world. Biology educators have been diligent in their methods to increase evolution acceptance and knowledge, with much success. However, misconceptions still arise through education, textbooks, and even social and religious settings that may influence our citizens' low evolution acceptance rates. Much research has been done on such misconceptions. But with new technology and electronic advances, we now have a wide variety of information available at our fingertips. Advents such as social media, popular culture, and smart devices may incorporate new and unique misconceptions not seen before in evolution education. We see a younger generation raised in an era where they may experience a bombardment of evolution misconceptions daily, from the games they play to the posts or memes they read on social media. Research into these effects is lacking but may be essential to push the boundaries of evolution education into the future.

Acceptance of human evolution seems to be the majority position for the U.S. population; however, acceptance of evolution among conservative Christian groups is low, sometimes below 50%. There are many different reasons for this low acceptance, leading to a significant disconnect between scientific specialists and the general population. This study examined students in an introductory biology class at a large public university. Semistructured in-person interviews were conducted to better understand students' belief in evolution, or their lack thereof. At the beginning of the semester, 19 of the participants accepted evolution, a number that increased to 29 students by the end of the semester. In contrast, only eight students accepted human evolution at the beginning of the semester, but the number increased to 21 students by the semester's end. The interviews elucidated three essential factors that can change students' minds: teaching the evidence of evolution, providing the influence of a role model to reconcile religion and science, and assisting students with overcoming misconceptions about evolution.

Too many students reject the theory of evolution because they view it as incompatible with their religious beliefs. Some have argued that abandoning religious belief is the only way to help religious individuals accept evolution. Conversely, our data support that highlighting faith/evolution compatibility is an effective means to increase student acceptance. We surveyed students enrolled in entry-level biology courses at four religiously affiliated institutions. At each university, teachers gave students a presentation that demonstrated potential compatibility between evolution and faith within the teachings of each university's respective religious affiliation. Students were asked to evaluate their own beliefs about evolution both before and after this instruction. After instruction at each university, students showed significant gains in evolution acceptance without abandoning their religious beliefs. These results demonstrate that giving religious students the opportunity to reconcile their religious beliefs with the theory of evolution under the influence of intentional instruction on the compatibility of belief and evolution can lead to increased evolution acceptance among religious students.