ERIC Number: EJ1038228
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Aug
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-0145
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Empirical Examination of the Warfare Metaphor with Respect to Pre-Service Elementary Teachers
Cobern, William W.; Loving, Cathleen C.; Davis, Edward B.; Terpstra, Jeff
Journal of Science Education and Technology, v22 n4 p488-499 Aug 2013
Since its origination in the late nineteenth century, the warfare metaphor has been used to characterize the relationship between science and religion, especially orthodox Christianity. Though thoroughly discredited by historians of science, the ideological descendants of Thomas Huxley, who spoke of science in quasi-religious terms, have kept the warfare metaphor alive. On the other hand, there are substantial numbers of Christians who at least appear to oppose science given their high-profile opposition to the general theory of evolution. The research reported in this paper asked, "Does anti-science sentiment increase with increasing orthodox Christian belief?" Two validated, published instruments were used: "The Thinking about Science Survey Instrument" and the "Christian Fundamentalist Belief Scale." The subjects for the study were 545 preservice elementary teachers. The analysis did not show that anti-science sentiment increases with increasing Christian belief. Subjects with strong Christian beliefs were found to be just as supportive of science, if not more so, than subjects with no Christian beliefs. The study concludes with a caution against projecting attitudes toward science "on the whole" based on attitudes specifically toward evolution when working with preservice elementary teachers. Such a projection could well be counterproductive. The study has implications for other modern countries having highly religious populations such as Turkey.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, War, Figurative Language, Christianity, Science and Society, Beliefs, Scientific Attitudes, Evolution, Religion
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A