Predictors of evolution acceptance in a museum population

Lindsay M Barone, Andrew J Petto, Benjamin C Campbell
2014 Evolution: Education and Outreach  
Studies of the U.S. general public have demonstrated that acceptance of evolution is a function of both religion and education. To test if this is true of natural history museum patrons as well, we conducted a survey of visitors to the Milwaukee Public Museum. We hypothesized that education and religion represented separate pathways in the acceptance of evolution. Measures included the MATE scale of evolution acceptance, as well as questions about religious denomination, frequency of religious
more » ... ervice attendance, educational attainment and knowledge of evolutionary terms. Methods: The survey was administered to visitors of the Milwaukee Public Museum during the summer of 2013. A total of 203 museum goers completed the entire survey. We analyzed the data using chi square, analysis of variance, and general linear models. Results: We found that, on average, museum patrons scored high on acceptance of evolution. Religious denomination or frequency of church attendance was not related to educational attainment. In bivariate analyses, Christian affiliation was associated with lower acceptance of evolution, with nondenominational Christians showing the lowest level of acceptance. Educational attainment, but not religious denomination was related to knowledge of evolutionary terms. In a multivariate model, knowledge of evolutionary terms was predicted by education and religious denomination. In a similar model, acceptance of evolution was predicted by education, religious denomination, frequency of church attendance and knowledge of evolutionary terms. Conclusion: Our results are consistent with previous findings in U.S. samples demonstrating that religious denomination, religiosity and education are predictors of evolutionary acceptance among adults. In addition, they confirm our hypothesis that religion and education represent largely distinct pathways in the acceptance of evolution. The major impact of religious denomination is on the acceptance, not knowledge of evolution. These results focus attention on understanding what processes allow religious fundamentalists to block the conversion of knowledge about evolution into evolutionary acceptance.
doi:10.1186/s12052-014-0023-2 fatcat:mpqrbb43dfgh7bxlvfhltyl4su