If Neither from Evolution nor from the Bible, Where Does Tension Between Science and Religion Come from? Insights from a Survey with High School Students in a Roman Catholic Society

Abstract

In this chapter, we present and analyse the perceptions of Portuguese students about the relationship between science and religion in a Catholic cultural context. A pen and paper questionnaire was answered by 308 High School students. Results suggest that conflict, independence, and dialogue seem to be ways adopted by respondents for conceiving the relationship between science and religion. It is worth mentioning that the Bible and the theory of the evolution of species do not seem to be the reasons why science and religion are perceived as conflictual among young believers. Further research is necessary to understand the sources of conflictual perceptions, exploring the consistency of results across different levels of analysis.