Categorizations of the interface of evolution and religion

Rachel S.A. Pear*, Shoaib Ahmed Malik

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

This piece responds to the article by Arif Rachmatullah, Soonhye Park, and Minsu Ha “Crossing borders between science and religion: Muslim Indonesian biology teachers' perceptions of teaching the theory of evolution,” in which the authors are among the first researchers to explore the views of Indonesian science teachers regarding evolution instruction. This new context is important for furthering a global perspective on evolution education. However, the authors use preexisting taxonomies for their analyses that were developed in studies executed in mostly Christian contexts. In this response, we argue that investigations into new geographical and religious milieus, such as the teachers in the study by Rachmatullah and colleagues, could instead be used to develop more attuned categorizations for the burgeoning research area of the interaction of Islam, Judaism, and other traditions with evolution. We reflect upon experiences from our own work in studying Jewish and Muslim views of evolution, as well as on alternative taxonomies developed regarding Islam and evolution; we close with a brief rationale for a current initiative to create a researchers’ network for those who study the interface of science, religion, and society in the Middle East and North Africa.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)625-634
Number of pages10
JournalCultural Studies of Science Education
Volume17
Issue number2
Early online date15 Jan 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Islam and evolution
  • Judaism and evolution
  • Taxonomies on the interaction of science and religion

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