Engaging Tension in the Science and Religion Classroom

This study researches student engagement with issues related to the interaction between science and religion. The researcher's background in teaching both science classes and religion classes and as a chaplain became part of the context for researching student tension between science and religion at the university. The genesis of this research specifically unfolded with questions in the researcher's own classroom practice and university experiences as he watched students grapple with questions about creation and evolution. From these questions and this context, the connection was made between the questions students were raising to educational hermeneutic frameworks that might affect student typological frameworks. As this research progressed, it developed into a quest to understand how science and religion typologies could be utilized in survey form as a tool to increase student understanding and classroom discussion. Thus, the purpose of the research project came to centre upon the creation of a workable survey instrument that would help students and teachers better understand the interactions between issues of science and religion.