Modern sciences in religious Iran: An assessment of the educated Iranians’ attitude toward biological evolution

Abstract

It is often assumed that there is a confrontation between science and Islam, especially in religious communities. Biological evolution is often one of the constant sources of contention due to its metaphysical implications. Although there are some empirical data showing low acceptance of evolution and understanding its basic principles in Sunni-majority countries, there has been a categorical lack of data about Iran as the most influential Shiite-majority state. Therefore, in order to reach a better understanding of the culture and world-view of Iranians, we implemented two established questionnaires and phone interviews to assess educated Iranians’ attitude toward evolution. We reach an important conclusion, which is supported by extensive quantitative data obtained from two separate questionnaires, that most Iranians accept both underlying principles as well as controversial topics such as human evolution in a striking rate. Additionally, key concepts of evolution were greatly understood by a large fraction of our participants. Finally, the research exhibited that Iranians did not consider evolution and their religious belief system as two rival systems, regardless of identifying themselves as religious or non-religious individuals. To investigate the reason for this cultural phenomenon that is unique among major Islamic countries, we suggest that it is due to three reasons. Central national education system implementing evolutionary science at both high school and university levels, explosive accessibility of academic atmosphere for the public, and more science-friendly interpretation of Islam are thought to be responsible factors for such a high level of acceptance and understanding. This study has crucial implications for revisiting the nature of Science-Islam interaction among various Muslim communities, Shiite Iranians included.