THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AND RELIGION

Belief in creationism and intelligent design is widespread and gaining significance in a number of countries. This article examines the characteristics of science and of religions and the possible relationship between science and religion. I argue that creationism is sometimes best seen not as a misconception but as a worldview. In such instances, the most to which a science educator (whether in school, college or university) can normally aspire is to ensure that students with creationist beliefs understand the scientific position. In the short term, the scientific worldview is unlikely to supplant a creationist one for students who are firm creationists. We can help students to find their evolutionary biology courses interesting and intellectually challenging without their being threatening. Effective teaching in this area can help students not only learn about the theory of evolution but better appreciate the way science is done, the procedures by which scientific knowledge accumulates, the limitations of science, and the ways in which scientific knowledge differs from other forms of knowledge.     

EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM IN MIDDLE EASTERN EDUCATION: A NEW PERSPECTIVE

Statements made in a recent outcry against a creationist in the Israeli Ministry of Education starkly illuminated Western misconceptions about Iranian science education. These misconceptions are perpetuated not only among the general public but also within the international scientific community, where investigations of "Islamic creationism" often incorporate misleading assumptions regarding Islamic religious attitudes toward science as well as the nature of secularism in non‐Western states. In turn, these assumptions have led to superficial analyses that overly rely on state religiosity to explain the treatment of evolution in national science education. Therefore, a new framework accounting for local political and social circumstances is crucial and urgently needed to effectively analyze science education in the Middle East.     

God is in the Data: Epistemologies of Knowledge at the Creation Museum

In contemporary American public culture, interest groups increasingly mobilise social constructionist arguments in order to discredit strains of scientific knowledge. According to Latour [2004. Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern. Critical Inquiry, 30:225–48], the field of science studies has contributed to this trend by exposing the ways that scientific facts are socially mediated. In this article, I examine how a narrative of social construction is articulated in the Creation Museum, a young earth creationist museum in Northern Kentucky, USA. I compare the epistemology of science in the Creation Museum with that of conspiracy theory and of social constructionist science studies. I examine how, in the Creation Museum, social constructionist critique is combined with a framing of the Bible as a source of factual data. It is argued that science studies, conspiracy theory and creationism overlap in their critiques of the transparency and objectivity of science. However, they diverge in terms of the degree of recursivity they allow.     

Bioorganic chemistry: Institutes,journals, publications,a short scientific metric analysis <Emphasis Type="Italic">on the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Natural Compound Chemistry,Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry</Emphasis>

An attempt to illustrate the development of bioorganic chemistry in Russia and all over the world has been made. The development of a new field of science was accompanied by the emergence of specialized journals, organizations, departments and institutions for research in this field. A brief report about the four most important world journals on bioorganic chemistry is represented. The analysis of publications of world scientific institutions, having the word “bioorganic” in their title since 1972 to the middle of 2008, has been made with the help of information from Web Science. The publication distribution among countries, institutions, languages, journals, and the list of the most productive authors clearly demonstrate the leading role of the USSR and Russia and of the Institute of Natural Compound Chemistry, Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, in the creation and development of this field of science in the world. The publication distribution among the areas of knowledge displays a close connection between bioorganic chemistry and a number of the other fields of science, first of all, biochemistry and molecular biology, and also organic chemistry.     

Scientific reasoning ability does not predict scientific views on evolution among religious individuals

Background

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. 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.

Results

We 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.

Conclusions

With 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.

     

Perspective: evolution's struggle for existence in America's public schools

The ongoing creation-evolution controversy in North America thrives on the widespread special creationist beliefs of a significant portion of the public. Creation science supports a literal interpretation of the Judeo-Christian Bible, an earth that is no more than 10.000 years old and created ex nihilo in six days by a monotheistic God, with no new kinds arising since the period of creation, and with a single flood of staggering force shaping layers of rocks and trapping the organisms fossilized within them. Despite decisions in numerous court cases that specifically exclude creationism and creation science from primary and secondary biology classes in America's public schools, creationists now work locally to minimize or remove evolution from science teaching standards. The nationally organized movement to resist the teaching of evolution has proven highly effective, influencing state and district school boards in addition to individual teachers and schools. Thus, if teaching about evolution and the nature of science is to survive in America's primary and secondary schools, scientists must likewise work with teachers and reach out to state and local school boards. In this perspective we outline the typical creationist arguments we encounter from students, teachers, school board members, and neighbors. We explain briefly how knowledge of both microevolution and macroevolution is important in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology. We describe a science education controversy that arose within our own school district, how we responded, and what we learned from it. Finally, we argue that even modest outreach efforts to science teachers will be richly repaid.     

How to Win the Evolution War: Teach Macroevolution!

If the American public understood what is actually known about the major evolutionary transitions in the history of life and how we know about them, uncertainty about evolution would drop precipitously, creationist arguments would fall on deaf ears, and public education in biology would make much more sense than it now does. Macroevolution must take a much more prominent place in K-12 science teaching. To do so, a curriculum must be redeveloped at both K-12 and college levels, so that preparation in macroevolution is a required part of K-12 biology preparation.     

Science literacy and natural history museums

It appears that developed countries, such as the US, the UK and Italy, are losing the race against irrationalism and arbitrary thinking in regard to nature and human interactions. The incidence of misguided beliefs and the detachment from and, in some cases, outright hostility toward science are on the rise. Paradoxically, this is probably the period in the history of advanced countries in which increasing public and personal efforts have been directed toward the dissemination of scientific knowledge to increase public understanding of science. This article vindicates the role of natural history museums in consolidating rational and critical scientific thinking while briefly examining scientific illiteracy in developed countries. It also discusses methods to improve the involvement of natural history museums in the promotion of rational thinking, the only appropriate avenue for objective knowledge.     

Is science metaphysically neutral?

This paper challenges the claim that science is metaphysically neutral upheld by contenders of the separation of peacefully co-existent science and religion and by evolutionary theists. True, naturalistic metaphysical claims can neither be refuted nor proved and are thus distinct from empirical hypotheses. However, metaphysical assumptions not only regulate the theoretical and empirical study of nature, but are increasingly supported by the growing empirical body of science. This historically evolving interaction has contributed to the development of a naturalistic worldview that renounces the necessity of a transcendent god and of purposeful design. The thesis presented here differs not only from the claims of the "separatists" and of evolutionary theists. In pointing to the metaphysical aspects of science, I also criticize the failure of some evolutionary naturalists to distinguish between empirical and metaphysical contentions. Most important, based on the examination of science suggested here, creationists' false accusation that science is only a naturalistic dogma is refuted. Finally, the difficulties involved in the position endorsed here for the public support of evolution are acknowledged, taking into account the high religious profile of the American society and the social and political context in the US and in other countries.     

Apprehension and Pedagogy in Evolution Education

Instructors’ apprehensions and the decisions instructors make about pedagogy are often linked when it comes to teaching evolution. Whether it is the reticence of K-12 teachers that their instruction may affect their students’ religious beliefs detrimentally or that they may become caught up in some administrative, media, parental, or school political turmoil or whether it is the apprehension of college students who perceive that their religious beliefs are being explicitly challenged, such fears can be reduced by understanding their roots and by honing pedagogy in ways that reduce perceived threats. This article describes why it is prudent to address these often secretly held apprehensions and how to help instructors feel free to employ their best pedagogical methods to teach evolution without lingering fear. Some suggestions are given for pre-college and college instructors interested in combining effective pedagogy with as little perceived threat as possible. Methods are offered that allow instructors to focus on underlying scientific misconceptions even if those misconceptions are ultimately facilitated by non-scientific sources, while giving creationist or creationist-leaning students a chance to learn the appropriate scientific conceptions without their religious beliefs being explicitly threatened in a science course.     

Scientific Authority in the Creation–Evolution Debates

At the heart of debates among creationists and evolutionists are questions about scientific integrity and rigor. Creationists often justify their rejection of biological evolution by claiming that the methodologies and interpretations of evolutionary scientists are flawed. A consideration of creationists’ critiques of the scientific data, however, reveals a deficient understanding and appreciation of the nature of the scientific process. It is essential that our schools educate students about the character of scientific inquiry. Clarifying the nature and limitation of scientific knowledge for our students will equip our students to evaluate evolutionary or creationist arguments critically. Recognizing and teaching both the strengths and limitations of the scientific process will do much to further the ongoing dialogue between science and religion.     

Should Students Be Able to Opt Out of Evolution? Some Philosophical Considerations

One new development in the ongoing creationism/evolution controversy has been the proposal to institute opt-out policies that would allow creationist parents to exempt their children from any instruction involving evolution. By way of an explanation of some of the philosophical issues at play in the debate over evolution and the nature of science, this article shows the educational folly of such policies. If evolution is taught properly, it should not be possible to opt out of it without opting out of biology. Moreover, if Intelligent Design creationist criticisms of evolution and scientific naturalism were taken as the basis for opting out, then the effect would be even more radical and would require opting out of science entirely.     

The Design of Depressed Cities in the Far North and Their Image in Media Space after the Implosion of the USSR

The relevance of our topic comes from the fact that, in terms of urban planning, the development of design activities in Russia is easier to learn by analyzing separate local studies than by looking for its manifestations in a real dimension. This article, using mass media, assesses the factors and their influence on design activities of the USSR and later Russia, and the reasons for the desolation and destruction of cities that were densely populated in the middle of the 20th century. According to the authors, government agencies should take measures to achieve positive changes in the development of domestic design, which could result in an improvement in the state’s economic situation. They cite the economic indicators of developed countries where the designer is able to translate ideas into material form, to translate scientific and technical achievements into the language of consumers’ values.     

Was Darwin a creationist?

Throughout the Origin of Species, Darwin contrasts his theory of natural selection with the theory that God independently created each species. This makes it seem as though the Origin offers a scientific alternative to a theological worldview. A few months after the Origin appeared, however, the eminent anatomist Richard Owen published a review that pointed out the theological assumptions of Darwin's theory. Owen worked in the tradition of rational morphology, within which one might suggest that evolution occurs by processes that are continuous with those by which life arises from matter; in contrast, Darwin rested his account of life's origins on the notion that God created one or a few life forms upon which natural selection could act. Owen argued that Darwin's reliance on God to explain the origins of life makes his version of evolution no less supernatural than the special creationist that Darwin criticizes: although Darwin limits God to one or a few acts of creation, he still relies upon God to explain life's existence.     

Why Science Standards are Important to a Strong Science Curriculum and How States Measure Up

In 2000, Lawrence Lerner and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation reviewed state science standards in 49 states and the District of Columbia, specifically with respect to the coverage of evolution. We repeat his survey for all current standards publicly available as of May 2009 and discuss the history and role of state science standards in American public education. Our survey indicates that science standards tend to cover evolution more extensively than they did a decade ago, and that the average quality of the treatment has increased. However, certain types of creationist language are also becoming more common in state standards. We also discuss the history and role of state science standards in American public education.     

Microscopy images as interactive tools in cell modeling and cell biology education

The advent of genomics, proteomics, and microarray technology has brought much excitement to science, both in teaching and in learning. The public is eager to know about the processes of life. In the present context of the explosive growth of scientific information, a major challenge of modern cell biology is to popularize basic concepts of structures and functions of living cells, to introduce people to the scientific method, to stimulate inquiry, and to analyze and synthesize concepts and paradigms. In this essay we present our experience in mixing science and education in Brazil. For two decades we have developed activities for the science education of teachers and undergraduate students, using microscopy images generated by our work as cell biologists. We describe open-air outreach education activities, games, cell modeling, and other practical and innovative activities presented in public squares and favelas. Especially in developing countries, science education is important, since it may lead to an improvement in quality of life while advancing understanding of traditional scientific ideas. We show that teaching and research can be mutually beneficial rather than competing pursuits in advancing these goals.     

Science Classroom Inquiry (SCI) Simulations: A Novel Method to Scaffold Science Learning

Science education is progressively more focused on employing inquiry-based learning methods in the classroom and increasing scientific literacy among students. However, due to time and resource constraints, many classroom science activities and laboratory experiments focus on simple inquiry, with a step-by-step approach to reach predetermined outcomes. The science classroom inquiry (SCI) simulations were designed to give students real life, authentic science experiences within the confines of a typical classroom. The SCI simulations allow students to engage with a science problem in a meaningful, inquiry-based manner. Three discrete SCI simulations were created as website applications for use with middle school and high school students. For each simulation, students were tasked with solving a scientific problem through investigation and hypothesis testing. After completion of the simulation, 67% of students reported a change in how they perceived authentic science practices, specifically related to the complex and dynamic nature of scientific research and how scientists approach problems. Moreover, 80% of the students who did not report a change in how they viewed the practice of science indicated that the simulation confirmed or strengthened their prior understanding. Additionally, we found a statistically significant positive correlation between students’ self-reported changes in understanding of authentic science practices and the degree to which each simulation benefitted learning. Since SCI simulations were effective in promoting both student learning and student understanding of authentic science practices with both middle and high school students, we propose that SCI simulations are a valuable and versatile technology that can be used to educate and inspire a wide range of science students on the real-world complexities inherent in scientific study.     

A review of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psylliodes</Emphasis> Latreille (Coleoptera,Chrysomelidae) of the fauna of Russia and neighboring countries: II. An annotated list of species

An annotated list of species of the genus Psylliodes from Russia and neighboring countries is presented. The list embraces the territory of the former USSR and Mongolia and includes 65 species and 2 subspecies of 3 subgenera and 21 species groups. Among these, records of 56 species in the territory have been confirmed, and records of 8 species are probable or remain not confirmed. For each species, the synonymy, differential diagnosis, published data on the host plants, bionomy, and distribution are presented, and references to the essential publications are given.     

Experiential Thinking in Creationism—A Textual Analysis

Creationism is a religiously motivated worldview in denial of biological evolution that has been very resistant to change. We performed a textual analysis by examining creationist and pro-evolutionary texts for aspects of “experiential thinking”, a cognitive process different from scientific thought. We observed characteristics of experiential thinking as follows: testimonials (present in 100% of sampled creationist texts), such as quotations, were a major form of proof. Confirmation bias (100% of sampled texts) was represented by ignoring or dismissing information that would contradict the creationist hypothesis. Scientifically irrelevant or flawed information was re-interpreted as relevant for the falsification of evolution (75–90% of sampled texts). Evolutionary theory was associated to moral issues by demonizing scientists and linking evolutionary theory to atrocities (63–93% of sampled texts). Pro-evolutionary rebuttals of creationist claims also contained testimonials (93% of sampled texts) and referred to moral implications (80% of sampled texts) but displayed lower prevalences of stereotypical thinking (47% of sampled texts), confirmation bias (27% of sampled texts) and pseudodiagnostics (7% of sampled texts). The aspects of experiential thinking could also be interpreted as argumentative fallacies. Testimonials lead, for instance, to ad hominem and appeals to authorities. Confirmation bias and simplification of data give rise to hasty generalizations and false dilemmas. Moral issues lead to guilt by association and appeals to consequences. Experiential thinking and fallacies can contribute to false beliefs and the persistence of the claims. We propose that science educators would benefit from the systematic analysis of experiential thinking patterns and fallacies in creationist texts and pro-evolutionary rebuttals in order to concentrate on scientific misconceptions instead of the scientifically irrelevant aspects of the creationist—evolutionist debate.     

Beyond 2000: science/biology education for the future

A number of countries are currently tackling the issue of curriculum reform in school science. In England and Wales, a 5-year moratorium on curriculum reform across the 5-16 age range will end in the year 2000. This article reviews the conclusions of a 2-year project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which explored ways in which a new science curriculum might be constructed and what it might look like. Particular attention is paid to the aims of science education, to the relationship between the content of a syllabus and its assessment, and to the suggestion that the science curriculum would be better presented as a relatively small number of explanatory stories rather than as a mass of detail. The proposals outlined here would allow for small but significant changes in the year 2000, and for more substantive changes thereafter, to be introduced only after adequate trialling. Our hope is that school science education in England and Wales can build on some of its current strengths and address certain weaknesses, leading to a more relevant and fulfilling education for future generations.