Table 2. Views about, and experience with, evolution in a personal setting.
| Question | Response (%) |
|---|---|
| 1. What courses have you taken in high school? (Check all that apply.) | |
| a. Earth Science | 36.2 |
| b. General Biology | 90.3 |
| c. AP Biology | 7.9 |
| d. Specialty Biology (e.g. marine, environmental, etc.) | 5.9 |
| 2. Did your high school biology course offer strong coverage of the topic of evolution? | |
| a. Strong coverage | 31.4 |
| b. Weak coverage | 62.4 |
| c. No coverage | 6.2 |
| 3. Apart from covering the subject of evolution did your teacher reveal (perhaps inadvertently) a personal bias about evolution? | |
| a. A skepticism about the validity of evolution | 4.2 |
| b. A feeling that there might be a religious conflict about evolution | 19.8 |
| c. An atheistic attitude about the absence of deity in the evolutionary process | 12.9 |
| d. A neutral attitude; no bias about the consequences of evolutionary principles | 63.2 |
| 4. What was your reaction to the topic of evolution as taught in your high school biology course? | |
| a. Acceptance without conflict | 17.3 |
| b. Concern about the validity of evolution | 11.0 |
| c. Feelings of mild conflict because of religious doctrine | 30.0 |
| d. Feelings of severe conflict leading to rejection of evolution | 5.5 |
| e. Feelings of neutrality; no strong reaction either way | 36.2 |
| 5. Was evolution ever discussed in your LDS seminary classes? | |
| a. No | 60.7 |
| b. Yes. I came away with the feeling that the Church opposes evolution. | 5.4 |
| c. Yes. I came away with the feeling that the Church doesn’t have a position on evolution | 4.0 |
| d.Yes. I came away with the feeling that science, including evolution, and religion are compatible with one another. | 23.5 |
| e. Something else. | 6.5 |
| 6. Have you heard about, or read, the book Man His Origin and Destiny, by Joseph Fielding Smith? | |
| Yes. | 13.1 |
| No. | 86.9 |
| 7. Have you heard about, or read, the book Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce R. McConkie? | |
| Yes. | 49.2 |
| No. | 50.8 |
| 8. Have you heard about, or read, the “BYU Packet on Evolution?” | |
| Yes. | 9.5 |
| No. | 90.5 |
| 9. Have you recently heard or read a statement by a current LDS leader/authority which expressed negative sentiments about evolution? | |
| Yes. | 8.1 |
| No. | 91.9 |
| 10. Was the teaching of evolution a controversial issue in your family? | |
| Yes. | 10.1 |
| No. | 89.9 |
| 11. Are you in the first generation of your family to attend college? | |
| Yes | 5.1 |
| No | 94.9 |
| 12. If either or both of your parents attended BYU, did either or both of them study a major within or related to the life sciences (e.g., biology, microbiology, zoology, health, nursing, etc.)? | |
| a. Yes | 15.7 |
| b. No | 55.8 |
| c. Neither of my parents attended BYU | 28.5 |
| 13. Are either or both of your parents in a life science profession? (e.g., Doctor, dentist, nurse, research scientist in the life sciences, etc.) | |
| a. Yes | 18.1 |
| b. No | 81.9 |
| 14. How much do you think your parent’s opinion of evolution has influence your own views on the subject? | |
| Very strongly influenced. | 13.4 |
| Somewhat influenced | 42.2 |
| Influenced very little. | 44.4 |
| 15. How much do you think your parents’ opinion about evolution has been influenced by their own educational experience? | |
| Very strongly influenced. | 15.5 |
| Somewhat influenced | 57.1 |
| Influenced very little. | 27.4 |
| 16. Was the teaching of evolution a controversial issue in your community of state? | |
| Yes | 32.6 |
| No. | 67.4 |
Responses are from Cohort 2 (2014–2016).