Reiss, Michael J;
(2023)
Debating Evolution in Context – Religion in the Biology Classroom – Brazil, England, Pakistan and the United States.
In: Fraser-Pearce, Jo and Fraser, James, (eds.)
The Bloomsbury Handbook of Schools and Religion.
Bloomsbury Academic: London, UK.
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Abstract
Evolution is perhaps the central theory in biology. Many with a religious faith accept its validity but there are many with a religious faith who reject it, holding that it contradicts their understanding of their religion. I examine the place of religion in the biology classroom when teaching evolution in four contrasting countries: Brazil, England, Pakistan and the USA and then go on to discuss ways in which school biology teachers might deal with the issue. One approach is to consider evolution as a controversial issue; this can work well so long as ‘controversial’ is used to mean ‘contentious’, not that evolution is scientifically controversial – the overwhelming majority of scientists see evolution as a very robust and well-established theory. I explore the worth of seeing acceptance of creationism or intelligent design as worldviews, and discuss the advantages of treating evolution as a sensitive issue for some students.
| Type: | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Title: | Debating Evolution in Context – Religion in the Biology Classroom – Brazil, England, Pakistan and the United States |
| ISBN-13: | 9781350297272 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bloomsbury-handbook-... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Evolution, science and religion, school biology, Brazil, England, Pakistan, the USA, controversial issues, worldviews, sensitive issues |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10189404 |
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