University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2006 Evolution and intelligent design: College students' perspectives Bethany Klein The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Klein, Bethany, "Evolution and intelligent design: College students' perspectives" (2006). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5009. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5009 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature** Yes, I grant permission No, I do not grant permission Author's Signature: Date: ^ 7 3 U K| c?OQCa Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. 8/98 EVOLUTION AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN: COLLEGE STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES by Bethany Klein B.A. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, 2003 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts The University of Montana July 2006 pproved by: Dean, Graduate School Date UMI Number: EP40473 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI EP40473 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Klein, Bethany M.A., July 2006 Anthropology Evolution and Intelligent Design: College Students’ Perspectives Chairperson: Ashley McKeown, PhD fA, A questionnaire was developed and administered to undergraduate students at the University of Montana during the Fall 2005 semester. This questionnaire’s main purpose was to determine the students’ knowledge and understanding on the subject of evolution and intelligent design in order to determine what steps need to be taken in the future to better educate the public on the need to teach evolution in high school biology classes. By using percentage scores, a chi-square test of independence, and comparative analysis of other surveys administered, the results indicated that the students tended to believe more in the scientific rationale used to explain the origin of humans rather than the religious views. Even so, the results showed that the students were completely divided on the issue of whether or not intelligent design should be allowed in the high schools across the United States. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would gratefully like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Ashley McKeown, for her willingness to help me throughout this entire study. Without all of her thoughtful suggestions and insights I could not have accomplished this amazing achievement. I would also like to thank my former professor, Dr. David Minderhout, for always keeping my spirits up. Without his amazing ability to keep me motivated throughout my entire academic career, I would not be where I am today. Special thanks to Dr. Randall Skelton and Dr. Fred Allendorf for their willingness to be a part of this. Their comments and critiques helped to shape this thesis into what it is. And to Don Partain who helped me through all of my spiritual and religious questions throughout this study. I am so thankful to have such a great friend in my life. I would finally like to thank my mom and dad, Marianne and John, for all of their support throughout my long academic career. They must have so much patience to have been able to talk me through my stress of the day from 3,000 miles away. Thank you! And to Chris who has constantly kept me going throughout my graduate career at the University of Montana. I do not know if I could have made it through those years without him. Thanks for enduring the long distance! And to my sister, Staci. Thanks for proofreading and your insightful critiques. And just thanks to the rest of my family and friends who have been there for me whenever I needed them. I know that without all of their support I would not have been able to achieve this amazing accomplishment. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii List of Tables v List of Figures vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Background 3 The History of Evolutionary Thought 6 The Emergence of Darwin 14 Heredity and the Rise of Genetics 18 The History of Creationism Held by Christians 21 The Rise of Creationism from the 1800s through the Present 25 The Rise of the Creationist/Evolutionist Debates 33 The History of the Debate Over Evolution and Creationism 34 In American Education Chapter 3: Materials and Methods 41 Demographics 42 Background Information Collected 45 Questions on Evolution and Intelligent Design 49 Statistics 50 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 53 Percentage Scores 54 Chi-Square Test of Independence 58 Comparative Analysis of Gallup Poll Results and Current Survey 80 Comparative Analysis from Past Studies 83 Problems and Future Work Associated with the Current Study 83 Chapter 5: Conclusion 86 References Cited 89 Appendix 1 93 Appendix 2 95 Appendix 3 96 Appendix 4 97 iv List of Tables Page 4.1. Combined percentage scores obtained from questions pertaining to religious beliefs and opinions....................................................................................................... 55 4.2. Combined percentage scores obtained from questions pertaining to scientific understanding and scientific belief .............................................................................57 4.3. Combined percentage scores obtained from questions pertaining to the effects of exposure to evolution, and opinions on evolution and intelligent design 58 4.4. Contingency table for answers to “Do you believe humans are descended from an ape-like ancestor?"..........................................................................................................59 4.5. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe evolution is a scientific theory that is testable?" ......................................................................................................... 60 4.6. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe in microevolution?"................61 4.7. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe in macroevolution?"...............61 4.8. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe God created the earth 4.5 billion years ago?"..........................................................................................................62 4.9. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe the earth was created by God 6,000 years ago?" ............................................................. 63 4.10. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe God created the world in 6 days?" ...............................................................................................................................64 4.11. Contingency table for answers to "If you believe God created the world in 6 days, do you believe that a day was 24 hours long?" .............................................65 4.12. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe all living humans are descended from Adam and Eve?" ............................................................................... 66 4.13. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe humans and dinosaurs coexisted?"......................................................................................... 67 4.14. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe intelligent design is a scientific theory that can be tested?" ................ 68 4.15. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe a theory is anything that can be tested in the natural world and cannot be falsified?" ........................ 69 4.16. Contingency table for answers to "Has being exposed to evolution changed your belief system?" .............................................................................................................. 70 4.17. Contingency table for answers to "Has being exposed to evolution made you question your belief system?" .....................................................................................71 4.18. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe evolution should be taught in high school?"................................................................................................................. 72 4.19. Contingency table for answers to "Do you believe intelligent design should be taught in high school?".................................................................................................73 4.20. Results from the chi-square test of independence ...................................................