A Critique of Biblical Creation Teaching and its Impact on the Scientific Literacy of Christian Religious Studies’ Students in Nigerian Secondary Schools

Abstract

The biblical creation story is a theme in Christian beliefs as well as in the Christian Religious Studies curriculum for public and private schools in Nigeria. Science education, in its own right, is purposed to promote scientific reasoning in the form of testable hypotheses and evidence-based descriptions. This study offers a critique of the biblical creation teaching as contained in the Christian Religious Studies (CRS) curriculum in Nigeria with the goal of ascertaining its potential impact on scientific literacy of CRS students in Nigerian secondary schools. The study adopts conceptual and content analysis to conceptualise religion-science dialogue, scientific literacy, biblical creation account in Genesis, scientific descriptions of the origin of the universe, and to ascertain the potential impact of the biblical creation teaching as contained in the CRS curriculum on the level of scientific literacy of CRS students in Nigerian secondary schools. Findings reveal adherence to the curriculum objectives of Christian Religious Studies with its emphasis on faith formation, moral values, and biblical literacy. It was also established that the biblical creation teaching is done in exclusion of scientific descriptions and other Nigerian cultural perspectives on the origin of the universe. This evinces a literal and exclusive approach to teaching creation or origin in which attempts are not made to differentiate religious teachings and explanations from scientific descriptions. It was argued that this could influence the level of scientific literacy and critical reasoning capability of Nigerian CRS students adversely. The study concluded that integration and collaboration of Christian Religious Studies and scientific descriptions, among other perspectives on origin, is necessary. The study also recommended curriculum review and adoption of interdisciplinary approach in teaching the origin of the universe which would extend beyond memorisation of biblical texts to interpretative, cultural and reflective. engagement.