Religious belief: the main impact on the perception of the nature of science on student teachers

This study aims to examine the affect of the degree of religiosity of student teachers, and their nationalism and scientific background on their perception of the nature of science (NOS). First year Arab and Jewish religiously observant, traditional and secular students in Israel (101 in number) with different scientific backgrounds participated in the study. The students completed a closed questionnaire with 35 statements that explored diverse aspects of the perception of the NOS. The findings show that previous scientific knowledge or belonging to the Jewish or Arab nation barely impacts the perceptions of the NOS. In contrast, religious belief, whether Jewish or Muslim, had significant impact. The more religious the students the greater weight they afforded culture and society versus science, and their support of the freedom of inquiry and of the tentativeness of science declined. The educational implications of the findings are discussed in view of the social increase in dogmatic religious belief alongside the unreserved exacerbated skepticism of every truth. Emphasis is placed on reinforcing the liberal dialogue approach that does not fear criticizing tradition, according to which it is possible to educate to critical thought without negating religious belief.