Can Someone Believe in God and Accept Evolution? Atheistic Perceptions of Evolution, Decrease Acceptance of Evolution

Most scientists agree that the theory of evolution is a foundational concept in understanding biology, yet it remains rejected by nearly half of the college student population (Barnes & Brownell, 2018). With religious students making up a large percentage of the student body on college campuses across the United States, it is important to consider how the way we teach evolution may impact religious students as they integrate the scientific view of evolution with their religious beliefs. One influential factor in religious student acceptance lies in the debate of whether you can believe in God and still accept evolution. A new study has shown that the ability of religious students to perceive evolution as agnostic – not being able to say whether there is or isn’t a God- rather than atheistic – saying there is no God- increased their comfort in learning and understanding evolution and also increased their acceptance of evolution.