The Roles of Epistemological Versus Content-Based Security in Evolution Acceptance by Religious Students

The purpose of this study was to characterize, using interview data, the nature of religious university students' reconciliation of evolution and religious belief. Data were collected from a large private Western university and consisted of interviews with students whose previous survey responses indicated acceptance of evolution co-occurring with contradictory statements about biblical stories. Findings reveal the distinction between epistemological (based on differences in science and religion as ways of knowing) and content-based reconciliation (based on the evaluation of the claims made by science and/or religion) between science and religion, and provide distinct features of reconciliatory responses. Implications are discussed for evolution instructional strategies, specifically a focus on epistemological reconciliation between evolution and religion, along with content-based security through theistic evolution, biblical reconceptualization, and open-mindedness.