AS Science In Society 1.9
Teacher Notes
Introduction
A powerpoint with several creation myths from different cultures is available. They are beautiful stories,
and students should be encouraged to suspend their ‘scientific’ approach to theories of evolution, and
enjoy them. One advantage of exposing students to several of the stories, is to demonstrate that there is
such a range of explanations about creation. Many students may only be familiar with the JudeoChristian creation story. The student sheet highlights some themes that the stories have in common.
The activity
The slides can be shown and narrated by the teacher or a student with little introduction.
Small groups discuss one of the questions about the creation stories, and then feed back to a wider
class discussion.
1. To what extent do you think people are still influenced by the ancient myths, and how does this affect
their acceptance of new ‘scientific’ theories?
2. Do you think science ‘disproves’ the creation myths?
3. In what ways are scientific theories about creation different from these creation myths?
Points relevant to the discussion;
In the 21st century, we continue to make theories about how earth was created, basing our ideas on
scientific evidence. These are our new creation stories. The ancient creation myths were based on what
people saw - their observations together with their imagination. The discussion should draw out ideas
about how observation, experiment and imagination lead to accepted scientific theories. It is not possible
to ‘prove’ evolution any more than it is possible to ‘prove’ other scientific explanations. The theory of
evolution is supported by scientific evidence from many areas of science. It has status as a scientific
theory because of the weight of evidence to support it.
It may be interesting to discuss the fact that, because it happened so long ago, it is not necessarily
possible to collect data that will ‘falsify’ all aspects of creation myths. Disagreements about the age of
the Earth are usually based on refusal to accept the status of scientific evidence.
Discussions of this nature should be sensitive to the views and beliefs of students in the class. There is
little value in allowing students to use try to use scientific arguments to challenge other students’
religious beliefs. It is more useful to discuss which questions they can answer using ‘science’ and which
they can answer using other frameworks.
Many people are perfectly comfortable holding different frameworks which they can apply to answer
questions about life and the universe. It is important to define what a scientific framework is, by
explaining the processes of ‘scientific method’. It should also be made clear that many scientists
appreciate simultaneously scientific explanations and explanations based on, for example, religious
beliefs. A key difference between science and religion is that religion relies on an authority, e.g. the Pope
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©The Nuffield Foundation, 2008
Copies may be made for UK in schools and colleges
AS Science In Society 1.9
Teacher Notes
and is therefore relatively unchanging. Science is constantly interacting with the environment, so theories
are modified and changed.
Some useful quotes about science v. religion:
Lord Robert Winston, Labour peer and fertility expert is Jewish. In reference to human spirituality he
says: “the great question is whether that spirituality is God-given, or whether it actually evolved because
it was needed”. He says “I’m still sitting on the fence”.
Russell Stannard is emeritus professor of physics at the O.U. and lay reader in the Church of England.
When asked if he was worried that science was about to explain the existence of everything without the
need for a creator, he answered: “No, because a starting point you can have is : why is there something
rather than nothing? Why is there a world? Now I cannot see how science can ever provide an answer”.
Richard Dawkins, until recently Oxford Professor of the public understanding of science, remains a
rationalist. “If science cannot say where the laws of physics ultimately come from, there is no reason to
expect that religion will do any better and rather good reasons to think it will do worse”.
November 2008
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©The Nuffield Foundation, 2008
Copies may be made for UK in schools and colleges
AS Science In Society 1.9
Student sheets
Introduction
Humans have always searched for answers to questions about the unknown. Nearly every culture has a
creation myth that helps explain the wonders of the earth. The creation myths developed by a society
have been influenced by that society’s environment. In turn, the myths have an immense influence on
people’s frame of reference; how they think about the world, other living things and about their own
position within creation. Many cultures have developed creation myths with the same basic elements,
despite being separated by geographical barriers.
Birth represents new life, and the beginning of life on earth was often compared with the beginning of a
child’s life.
The existence of a mother and father is not always directly associated with the creation of life on earth.
Sometimes the creation doesn’t occur for generations after the first supreme being appeared.
Some cultures believe that life originated either above or below the Earth where we live now. There are
diver-myths claiming the earth was once covered with water and the earth was brought to the surface.
According to some myths, humans and animals once lived together peacefully, but were split up
because of a sin caused by the human. Other times the innocence of humans is taken away by a
god.
The activity
After looking at the slides describing some of the creation myths to be found in different societies discuss
one of the following questions in your group, and give a brief summary of your discussion to the class.
1. To what extent do you think people are still influenced by the ancient myths, and how does this affect
their acceptance of new ‘scientific’ theories?
2. Do you think science ‘disproves’ the creation myths?
3. In what ways are scientific theories about creation different from these creation myths? How are
creation myths similar to scientific theories?
Page 1
©The Nuffield Foundation, 2008
Copies may be made for UK in schools and colleges