Who Said It? Author: See Acknowledgements below

Overview: In this activity, participants are asked to take a quiz in which they attempt to assign identities to authors of quotes related to religion and science. Answers and Gallup poll results for the same questions are shared and discussed.

Lesson Concepts:

• Many religious faiths reconcile scientific conclusions about the history of life on Earth with their belief systems; science and religion need not be in conflict.

Grade Span: 10–16 and in teacher workshops

Materials:

• Copies of the quiz (HTML or Word)

Advance Preparation:

— Duplicate the quiz for participants. Optional: Also duplicate the Gallup poll results for each participant.

Time: 20–30 minutes

Grouping: Appropriate for large group discussion

Teacher Background:

The debate between some religions and science is centuries old. Some believe that one must choose between a young Earth (and religious piety) and an Earth that is billions of years old (science rather than religion). A number of major religious organizations find no conflict between science and their faith, as can be seen in the answers to this quiz.

Vocabulary: creationism, cosmogony, humanism

Procedure:

1. Inform the participants that all but one of the questions in the quiz were taken from a Gallup poll about the relationship of religion and science. Have participants complete the quiz.
2. Ask individual participants to share their best guesses, item-by-item, and to give rationales for their choices. After each question is addressed, announce the percentage of respondents in the Gallup poll that gave each answer. Then announce the “correct” answer. Discuss what the implications might be for each answer. Example: What surprised you about that answer?
3. Ask the group: What might be the biggest idea that we can learn from this exercise?

Acknowledgements:

Adapted from “The trial of Darwin is Over: Religious Voices for Evolution and the ‘Fairness’ Doctrine” by Leonard Lieberman and Rodney C. Kirk, Creation/Evolution, National Center for Science Education, 1996.