INFLUÊNCIA DA RELIGIOSIDADE NA COMPREENSÃO DE EVOLUÇÃO POR OUVINTES DA MESA-REDONDA “DESMISTIFICANDO O ENSINO DE EVOLUÇÃO”

Abstract

Biological Evolution is considered a unifying axis of Biology, as it establishes connections between different areas, making biological knowledge more coherent and intelligible. Evolution is often considered controversial, with historically widespread misunderstandings that make it difficult to accept. While it isn't the goal of Evolution to delegitimize faith, religion was shaken by the publication of "The Origin of Species". In order to bring evolutionary knowledge closer to people's daily lives, the extension program "Evolução Para Todos" conducts scientific dissemination addressing different themes from an evolutionary perspective. During the round table “Desmistificando o ensino de Evolução”, an online form was voluntarily filled out by the listeners. It was possible to investigate the religious influence on the understanding of evolutionary theory in the conception of 201 participants. Most of them understand the common ancestry between humans and chimpanzees, and consider religion to be the main cause of controversy around Evolutionary Biology. For many participants, it’s possible to reconcile religious beliefs and Evolution, however a small portion of them adopted a denialist stance in relation to evolutionary principles and considered it incompatible with their religious dogmas. These results highlight the importance of scientific dissemination in the deconstruction of paradigms and the socialization of scientific knowledge beyond the academic environment.