Evolution Acceptance Among Undergraduates in the South

Over the last two decades, studies and opinion polls have sought to quantify and qualify acceptance of the facts and theory of evolution by Americans in the public and at schools and universities. These studies and polls typically examine associations between evolution acceptance and factors such as age, religiosity, or education experience. Fewer studies have considered how evolution acceptance is associated with types of variables such as personal interests, behaviors, and decision-making. This chapter reviews research on populations of undergraduates attending large public universities in the southeastern and southwestern United States. I consider how exposure to the theory and facts of evolution during K-12 and undergraduate schooling is associated with undergraduate students’ interests, behaviors, and decision-making about social issues that have a scientific basis.