Categorizations of the interface of evolution and religion

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Cultural Studies of Science Education

Publication Date

1-15-2022

Abstract

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.

ISSN

1871-1510

Publisher

Springer Nature

Disciplines

Education | Islamic Studies

Keywords

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

Scopus ID

85123196273

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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