Table 2 The participants’ responses to the question: Should teachers relate to religion when teaching evolution? (n = 20)
From: Scientists’ and teachers’ attitudes toward relating to religion when teaching evolution
Response | Why? | Said by |
|---|---|---|
Basically no | “If I oversaw the curriculum, I wouldn’t want science and religion to appear together since they are two separate things, and when you talk about religion in a science class you interrupt the ability to understand that they are unrelated.” | S8 |
Yes but… | “On the one hand, I don’t think the issue should be ignored. But on the other hand, how a teacher is supposed to deal with such a sensitive issue?” | S1 |
“I don’t think it's problematic if the differences between religion and science are emphasized” | S2 | |
“If the students will be interested - I will relate to the issue” | S4 | |
Important but… | "In order to decrease antagonism, I think there should be a pre-lesson –science, philosophy, Jewish thought, you name it” | S6 |
"In order to investigate the relationship between science to religion you need to be mature enough. So, I’m not sure how much students will understand, but it is important they will know that there is not a war between science and religion” | S7 | |
“I don’t think that biology teachers should relate to this issue, since they represent science. And this separation must be preserved”(S5) | S5, S9 | |
Absolutely yes | “I think you must relate to this issue, otherwise you don’t fulfill your mission and you won’t be able to teach evolution. I generally agree with teachers that reject the idea of relating to such ideas in a science class, but you can’t ignore it when discussing evolution and issues with ethical dilemmas. I think it is important also for general education of secular students, since they will be exposed to the idea of the conflict somewhere in the future, so they should know there are solutions to this question." (T4) | S3, S10, T1-T10 |