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Teaching evolution: A global controversy
Conventional wisdom would suggest that the education system in Indonesia and the education systems in the West are worlds apart
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Conventional wisdom would suggest that the education system in Indonesia and the education systems in the West are worlds apart.
However, halfway around the globe, the United States is dealing with a problem that is also present in Indonesian classrooms: How to reconcile Charles Darwin's scientific theory of evolution with the religious beliefs of teachers, students, and parents concerning the world's creation and the development of man.
According to a poll of 939 U.S. high school biology teachers conducted in May 2008 by Penn State University, one in four teachers devoted school time to the teaching of creationism or "intelligent design", and half of these teachers offered it as a "valid scientific alternative to the Darwinian explanation for the origin of species".
In 2005, President George W. Bush said that he believed "intelligent design" should be taught alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life. Since 2000, there have been a significant number of legal challenges to the teaching of evolution in U.S. high schools across the country.
Despite the image of modern secularism that the U.S. usually projects, there exists a powerful, mainstream challenge to the validity of evolution.
Although the debate over teaching evolution or creation has not yet manifested itself into legal challenges in Indonesia, it is still a controversial topic.
"I always open my class by informing my students about the debate," says Noviar Andayani of the University of Indonesia's (UI) Biology Department.
"I tell my students that religion is something that you believe, and it's important. But I teach evolution as a science, not a belief; I make that distinction between the mythology and the logic right at the beginning."
Noviar says she believes it is not wrong to teach both in schools, just as long as a religious interpretation is not offered as an alternative scientific theory.
"Science only goes as far as something we can see, prove, measure, witness ... beyond that, I think it goes to something else."
Like the U.S., there are two school systems in Indonesia: State-funded public schools that are mostly secular, and privately-funded schools, like madrassahs, that often incorporate religious education into the curriculum.
In public schools, evolution is taught independent of religion; in a madrassah, evolution is taught alongside religion.
Unlike the U.S., however, Indonesian public school students have to fulfill a religious studies requirement to graduate, despite the secular nature of the public schools. This almost forces any interpretation of evolution to fit within the bounds of Islam; according to many professors, this is not problematic.
"There shouldn't be any disagreements because the Koran is compatible with science," says Fahma Wijayanti, a lecturer at the Biology Department at State Islamic University (UIN). "If we learn more about evolution, we can discover and learn more about God's plan."
Baiq Hana Susanti, another lecturer at UIN, says that Darwin's theory is "largely inconclusive, with many missing links. The Koran fills in these holes or mysterious parts where there is no science to explain them."
Many Americans are skeptical that creationism and evolution can be reconciled. A 2005 poll conducted by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life concluded that 64 percent of all Americans support teaching the two theories side-by-side, and 38 percent favor the teaching of creationism over evolution.
According to the aforementioned Penn State study, these types of "community pressures place significant stress on teachers as they try to teach evolution, stresses that can lead them to de-emphasize, downplay, or ignore the topic".
When asked about student reaction to the controversy, university professors gave a wide range of responses.
Noviar of UI says, "I have never encountered anyone that said to me *your teaching is incorrect, I oppose your ideas about evolution', it's never happened."
Wijayanti of UIN says that she has seen students protesting the teaching of evolution, but she says, "Students who protest the teaching of evolution, they ask mainly na*ve questions and they don't understand evolution -- that's why they protest."
A lecturer at Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ), who asked to remain anonymous, says that it's truly hard to measure student reaction to evolution and their opinion on the matter.
"It's characteristic of Asian students to agree with the lecturer and ask very few questions in class. It's easy sometimes because you don't face much confrontation, but it's hard to see what's inside those brains."
A few of the professors interviewed said that a large portion of their students read the writings of Harun Yahya, a popular creationist writer and a critic of Darwinism, but they are nervous that the students will just take what he has written and disregard the science.
"There are always hardliners who believe that evolution should never be taught, and vice-versa. But there are many people in between who accept god and evolution," said the unnamed lecturer from UNJ.
"I think there should be a more intimate relationship between biologists and religious authorities, and more dialogue in order to better explain both sides."
Almost all the professors interviewed said that respect for individual beliefs is key to education, especially concerning such a sensitive topic.
"Indonesia is very diverse ethnically ... Indonesia cannot survive by imposing one religion on the people," says Noviar.
"We are taught a sense of tolerance from a very young age; we are taught that it is important to respect other people's beliefs and right to practice how they choose."
(Additional reporting by Ary Hermawan. Eric Walker is a student at The George Washington University currently interning at The Jakarta Post.)
Religion and the State
U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".
RI Constitution, Chapter XI, Article 29:
1. The State shall be based upon Belief in the One, Supreme God.
2. The State shall guarantee freedom to every resident to adhere to his respective religion and to perform his religious duties in conformity with that religion and that faith.
