Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reconciling Religious And Scientific Epistomologies: Leveraging Mutuality To Enhance Acceptance Of Science And Respect For Religion, Mary Medlin

Dissertations

One prominent factor associated with accepting science as factual includes religiosity, with greater espoused religiosity often associated with less acceptance of scientific facts and greater secularism associated with greater acceptance of science as factual, but often reduced respect of religious beliefs. Such dichotomies exacerbate perceptions that science and religion are mutually exclusive, thereby fostering conflict between individuals with different perspectives and increasing ideological polarization. The current study sought to compare these mutually exclusive articulations of science and religion to a mutualist articulation of science and religion as complementary ways of knowing. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four …