Presenter: Sawyer Thomas Baum
Authors: Sawyer Baum, T. Heath Ogden
Faculty Advisor: Heath Ogden
Institution: Utah Valley University
Acceptance of evolution has been increasing among the general population in the United States over the last decade (2010-2020), increasing from 45% to more than 52%, or even 80%, depending upon how the question is asked. Many factors influence acceptance of evolution, including education, religion, and age. The objective of this study is to evaluate the long-term trends of evolution acceptance of students in a public open enrollment university setting (as an overall representation of the general public). This study used survey data from surveys taken from introductory biology classes (non-majors) at a large public university in Utah from 2011-2021. Students were asked to fill out the survey prior to the semester's instruction. We found that the proportion of students who accept Evolution increased from 25% in 2011 to 40% in 2020.