Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education Could Address the Underrepresentation of People of Color in Evolutionary Biology
People of color are underrepresented in many STEM fields, and this underrepresentation is especially prevalent for Black individuals in evolutionary biology. Although there are many potential reasons why, a new study focuses on a factor that is often missing from these discussions: religious beliefs. It has been well established that Black individuals are more likely to be Christian compared to white individuals. Previous studies have also reported that Black individuals are less likely to accept evolution. However, no prior study has explored the relationships between race/ethnicity, religious beliefs, and evolution acceptance. Because there is often a perceived conflict between Christianity and evolution, a recent study set out to examine if there may be a connection between people of color’s religious affiliation and their acceptance of evolution.
It is important for instructors to recognize that religion can be very important to the lives and histories of their students. Religion can seem like a hurdle to understanding evolution in the eyes of instructors, particularly secular instructors, but in reality, religion is not necessarily in conflict with evolution. There are many religious beliefs that can be compatible with evolution and it is inaccurate to assume that one needs to reject a belief in God to accept evolution.
Previous research has shown that on average students of color tend to feel a lower sense of belonging in evolution classes. Not only do a higher proportion of people of color identify as Christian, but they also typically have higher degrees of commitment to their religion than White individuals (e.g. more individuals frequently attend religious events and report that their religion is important to their daily lives). This means that students of color may be particularly susceptible to feeling like they do not belong in evolution-related professions because it is more likely that they are religious, so their religious beliefs may in part be responsible for their underrepresentation in evolutionary biology.
People of color are more religious and less accepting of evolution
Collecting data from almost 10,000 students in 77 undergraduate biology courses across the United States, this new study identifies that Black students were more religious than students with any other racial or ethnic identity. Black students were also less accepting of evolution on average compared to students with all other racial or ethnic identities. Notably, the religious identities of Black and Hispanic students were associated with their lower acceptance of evolution.
Evolution classrooms that are not inclusive for religious students may disproportionately affect people of color
Previous research has shown that on average students of color tend to feel a lower sense of belonging in evolution classes. Not only do a higher proportion of people of color identify as Christian, but they also typically have higher degrees of commitment to their religion than White individuals (e.g. more individuals frequently attend religious events and report that their religion is important to their daily lives). This means that students of color may be particularly susceptible to feeling like they do not belong in evolution-related professions because it is more likely that they are religious, so their religious beliefs may in part be responsible for their underrepresentation in evolutionary biology.
Religious cultural competence in evolution education may be helpful
One critical change that secular evolution instructors can make to bridge the gap between their own beliefs and the religious beliefs of students is to strive to reduce the perceived conflict between religion and evolution in their classrooms. It is important for instructors to show students that they can be religious AND accept evolution, rather than having to choose between the two. Religious Cultural Competence in Evolution Education or ReCCEE is an instructional framework that has been proposed as a toolkit to help make evolution classrooms more inclusive for religious students. Specifically, ReCCEE recommends providing students with examples of religious scientists and religious leaders that accept evolution, as well as familiarizing students with the perspective of theistic evolution, which is the idea that God is somehow responsible for setting evolution in motion. While this instructional framework did not explicitly address race/ethnicity, this new study highlights that ReCCEE may be particularly helpful for students of color in evolution classrooms.
It is important to recognize that in order to increase diversity in STEM fields, we may need to broaden our focus from considering race/ethnicity alone to considering race/ethnicity and religious beliefs in the classroom as well because the two are connected in a way that we had not previously understood.
Post Author:
Baylee Edwards is an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Sara Brownell’s Biology Education Research Lab at Arizona State University. She is interested in exploring the experiences of students in bioethics classes as well as how instruction in these courses can be improved to increase inclusion. She is currently pursuing a degree in Biology and Society, and she is planning on continuing her education at ASU for graduate school after graduation.
It is important to recognize that in order to increase diversity in STEM fields, we may need to broaden our focus from considering race/ethnicity alone to considering race/ethnicity and religious beliefs in the classroom as well because the two are connected in a way that we had not previously understood.
Post Author:
Comments
Post a Comment