Assessment of Biology Majors' Versus Nonmajors' Views on Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design

Abstract

The controversy around evolution, creationism, and intelligent design resides in a historical struggle between scientific knowledge and popular belief. Four hundred seventy-six students (biology majors n=237, nonmajors n=239) at a secular liberal arts private university in Northeastern United States responded to a five-question survey to assess their views about: (1) evolution, creationism, and intelligent design in the science class; (2) students' attitudes toward evolution; (3) students' position about the teaching of human evolution; (4) evolution in science exams; and (5) students' willingness to discuss evolution openly. There were 60.6% of biology majors and 42% of nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in the science class, while 45.3% of nonmajors and 32% of majors were willing to learn equally about evolution, creationism, and intelligent design (question 1); 70.5% of biology majors and 55.6% of nonmajors valued the factual explanations evolution provides about the origin of life and its place in the universe (question 2); 78% of the combined responders (majors plus nonmajors) preferred science courses where evolution is discussed comprehensively and humans are part of it (question 3); 69% of the combined responders (majors plus nonmajors) had no problem answering questions concerning evolution in science exams (question 4); 48.1% of biology majors and 26.8% of nonmajors accepted evolution and expressed it openly, but 18.2% of the former and 14.2% of the latter accepted evolution privately; 46% of nonmajors and 29.1% of biology majors were reluctant to comment on this topic (question 5). Combined open plus private acceptance of evolution within biology majors increased with seniority, from freshman (60.7%) to seniors (81%), presumably due to gradual exposure to upper-division biology courses with evolutionary content. College curricular/pedagogical reform should fortify evolution literacy at all education levels, particularly among nonbiologists.

Keywords: Assessment; College education; Creationism; Evolution; Intelligent design.

Fig. 1

a Percentage of biology majors (black bars, n=231) and nonmajors (white bars, n=236) who consider one of the following explanations about the origin and development of life on Earth should be taught in science classes: A = evolution, B = equal time to evolution, creationism, intelligent design, and C = do not know enough to say. Raw data chi-square=16.594, df=2, P value≤0.001; asterisks indicate Sign test two-tail pair-wise comparisons P value≤0.02. b Percentage of freshman (F), sophomore (So), junior (J), and senior (Sr) biology majors who consider that A, B, or C (above) should be taught in science classes. Chi-square of percentage values=22.129, df=6, P value=0.001

Fig. 2

a Percentage of biology majors (black bars, n=237) and nonmajors (white bars, n=239) who think one of the following statements fits best their position concerning evolution: A = hearing about evolution makes me appreciate the factual explanation about the origin of life on Earth and its place in the universe, B = hearing about evolution makes no difference to me because evolution and creationism are in harmony, C = do not know enough to say, D = hearing about evolution makes me uncomfortable because it is in conflict with my faith, and E = hearing about evolution makes me realize how wrong scientists are concerning explanations about the origin of life on Earth and the universe. Raw data chi-square=19.725, df=4, P≤0.001; asterisks indicate Sign test two-tail pair-wise comparisons A—P value=0.056, C—P value≤0.01. b Percentage of freshman (F), sophomore (So), junior (J), and senior (Sr) biology majors who think statements A, B, or C (above) fit best their position concerning evolution (D and E were excluded from the analysis because over 20% of their expected values were less than 5). Chi-square of percentage values=17.418, df=6, P value=0.008

Fig. 3

a Percentage of biology majors (black bars, n=234) and nonmajors (white bars, n=227) who agree with one of the following statements concerning their own education: A = I prefer science courses where evolution is discussed comprehensively and humans are part of it, B = I prefer science courses where plant and animal evolution is discussed but not human evolution, and C = do not know enough to say. Raw data chi-square=11.879, df=2, P≤0.01; asterisk indicate Sign test two-tail pair-wise comparison P≤0.01. b Percentage of freshman (F), sophomore (So), junior (J), and senior (Sr) biology majors who agree with statements A, B, or C (above) concerning their own education. Chi-square of percentage values=13.676, df=6, P value=0.033

Fig. 4

a Percentage of biology majors (black bars, n=237) and nonmajors (white bars, n=239) who agree with one of the following statements concerning evolution in science exams: A = I have no problem answering questions concerning evolution, B = science exams should always include some questions concerning evolution, C = do not know enough to say, D = I prefer not to answer questions concerning evolution, and E = I never answer questions concerning evolution. Raw data chi-square=27.026, df=4, P≤0.001; asterisks indicate Sign test two-tail pair-wise comparisons P≤0.002. b Percentage of freshman (F), sophomore (So), junior (J), and senior (Sr) biology majors who agree with statements A, B, or C (above) concerning evolution in science exams (D and E were excluded from the analysis because over 20% of their expected values were less than 5). Chi-square of percentage values=15.316, df=6, P value=0.018

Fig. 5

a Percentage of biology majors (black bars, n=237) and nonmajors (white bars, n=239) who consider one of the following statements describes them best: A = I accept evolution and express it openly regardless of other’s opinions, B = no opinion, C = I accept evolution but do not discuss it openly to avoid conflicts with friends and family, D = I believe in creationism and express it openly regardless of others’ opinions, and E = I believe in creationism but do not discuss it openly to avoid conflicts with friends and family. Raw data chi-square=34.573, df=4, P≤0.001; asterisks indicate Sign test two-tail pair-wise comparisons P≤0.04. b Percentage of freshman (F), sophomore (So), junior (J), and senior (Sr) biology majors who consider statements A, B, or C (above) describes them best (D and E were excluded from the analysis because over 20% of their expected values were less than 5). Chi-square of percentage values=14.535, df=6, P value=0.024