Stances on science and religion

Secondary students’ responses to perceptions of the relationship between science and religion: stances identified from an interview study

One of my publications is:

Taber, K. S., Billingsley, B., Riga, F., & Newdick, H. (2011). Secondary students’ responses to perceptions of the relationship between science and religion: stances identified from an interview study. Science Education, 95(6), 1000-1025.

https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20459

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Abstract

It has been argued that learning science may be complicated, and even compromised, when students hold worldviews that may seem at odds with what is presented in science lessons. In particular, in some parts of the world, there has been considerable concern that students from particular religious backgrounds may reject some science teaching if perceived as inconsistent with their faith commitments. In this paper, we report the findings from an interview study that investigated how 12 13–14-year-olds from four diverse English schools perceived the relationship between science and religion. In particular, we consider how these students responded to any perceived contradiction and conflict between science and religion. We found a spectrum of stances among this small sample of secondary students. The more extreme positions represented a choice for either science or religion when conflict was perceived. However, other stances were found that sought a synthesis, accommodated inconsistent frameworks, or considered science and religion as noninteracting domains. These alternative stances present a similar range of possibilities to the possible outcomes that have been discussed when students' informal ideas in science are inconsistent with formal science teaching. The implications for further research and for curriculum development and teaching are considered.

Contents

• INTRODUCTION
  • • • The Issue of “Science” and Religion and School Science
• Worldviews and Cultural Border Crossing
• THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM CONTEXT
• RESEARCH QUESTION
• METHODOLOGY
  • • The Sample
    • Analysis
• FINDINGS
  • • Giving Religion Precedence
      • • • Brenda: I think it was the way it says in the Bible
          • Chas: People should abide by their religion
    • Openness to Science Supporting Faith
      • • • Alisha: Discovering your actual faith by going through it with science would be a big help to everyone
          • Anita: It’s like which one can I believe, or can I put them both together
          • Dominic: I like to think that science might be proving religion in a way
    • Compartmentalising Science and Religion
      • • • Andrea: There’s the science part of me and then there’s the religious part of me
          • Christine: When I’m in science, religion does not have anything to do with it
    • Multiple Frameworks
      • • • Barinder: It’s confusing—Science says one thing, RS says another
    • Choosing Science Over Religion
      • • • Ben: It’s about which side to follow, like what do you believe in
          • Colin: I’m on the scientific side
          • Dean: I don’t think you can feed the five thousand
          • David: It’s easier to believe science because it’s been proven
    • A Range of Stances
    • Limitations to the Study
• DISCUSSION
  • • The Knowledge Base Informing Students’ Stances
    • Parallels With Interactions Between Alternative Conceptions and Science Teaching
    • Cultural Border Crossing Within the English Context
• CONCLUSIONS