Managing the Conflict Between Evolution & Religion

Abstract

creation versus evolution conflict smolderson. Courts and curriculum committees haveclosed the issue repeatedly at national, stateand community levels, but the embers still glow.Occasionally, the controversy re-erupts into full flame.Parents band together and file suit against theirschool board claiming that the teaching of evolutionundermines their children’s worldview. State legisla-tures argue laws designed to de-emphasize the roleof evolution in the curriculum. University scientistsgather to champion the need for an uncompromisedapproach to the teaching of evolution in secondaryschools. Often, though, the controversy remains juston the brink of flare-up, a tension that biology teach-ers feel more than any other players in the conflict.Biology teachers face the demanding challenge ofcrafting a learning environment that mediates collid-ing agendas. They want students to deepen theirunderstanding of biological evolution in order tobecome scientifically literate citizens. At the sametime, they also want to support, rather than under-mine, the values of students, parents and communitieswhose worldviews can oppose the teaching of evolu-tion. On a private, and often unspoken level, manybiology teachers themselves must face their ownunresolved conflicts between biological evolution andtheir personal worldviews. Teachers from variousreligious and philosophical backgrounds face conflictsbetween their beliefs and biological evolution thatrange from simply thought-provoking to deeply dis-turbing. Is it possible for teachers to actually resolvethese conflicting ideas?

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