WHEN CLEAR PRESENTATION ISN'T ENOUGH: THE NEED FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT IN SCIENCE ADVOCACY

A large percentage of Americans reject biologic evolution and are resistant to it being taught in schools, most because of religious convictions. Educators and evolution advocates typically perceive the problem to be a lack of quality instruction that would win over naysayers. Our experience within the religious community has been very different. Because evolution is frequently equated with atheism (by both those advocating and denying evolution), many people with religious beliefs will not take the time to consider the evidence, regardless of how masterful the presentation. Within this context, if evolution equals atheism, physical evidence becomes irrelevant. Matters are made worse when pro-evolution cartoons and videos are published that make fun of religious beliefs, as young-earth organizations routinely employ such material to “prove” that evolution is simply a ploy to rid our culture of God. As a result, many persuasive arguments fall on deaf ears. We contend that effectively reaching this population will require a paradigm shift that moves away from treating religious belief as an obstacle to be surmounted, and instead works to enhance the exposure of writers and speakers who are promoting both faith and sound science. We will describe our own efforts in bringing the evidence for an ancient earth and evolution in a non-confrontational manner to future pastors in our nation’s seminaries.