Perception of brazilian citizens about Darwinism and the (Non) Influence of God in the evolutionary process

The current context is unique in relation to the teaching of evolution in Brazil and the population's perception of evolution. On the one hand, it is said often about Darwinism in various media, especially due to the relatively recent commemoration of the two hundred years of the birth of Charles Darwin and one hundred and fifty years of the launch of the book The Origin of Species. On the other hand, it is clear, in recent years, a timid movement, more worryingly, in favor of equitable approach of creationist and evolutionist theories in the classroom. This article is a part of a research whose goal is to raise the design that Brazilian respondents have about the Darwinian view (which disregards the divine influence in the evolution of the species). The instrument used for data collection is a questionnaire, type Likert scale, which consists of a series of statements in which respondents must express their degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement. In this study, we present the results of the statement. "The thought of Darwin, which does not consider God as a participant in the process of evolution, is...". Analysis correlated with data on religion and education of the respondents are also held. The results point to a tendency of respondents not to accept the Darwinian view that disregards God's interference in the evolutionary process. The data also show that respondents' choices are influenced by religion and education. The frequency of responses that tend to accept the Darwinian view (which disregards the divine participation in the evolution of the species) is higher among respondents with higher levels of education. Adherents to religions "evangelical" tend to deny this view more often than followers of other religions. Given the potential risks of inserting creationist approaches in school education, it is necessary a discussion of the possible impacts of this rejection of Darwin's thinking (which does not consider God as a participant in the evolutionary process), indicated here, in the teaching of evolution. This work was supported by FAPEMIG.

Influxos do céu na existência dos homens. Os escritos astrológicos na Península Ibérica (séculos XIII, XIV e XV)

Pós-graduação em História - FCHS

Religião, política e eleições na Folha Universal

The Folha Universal, newspaper produced by the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (Iurd, abbreviation in Portuguese for Universal Church of the Kingdom of God), reaches an average weekly circulation from 2.5 to 3.5 million copies. Studies indicate that the Folha Universal is not merely an institutional newspaper. It is systematically dedicated to be a source of political information to their readers, in order to publicize candidates and politicians who defend the Iurd’s proposals for the Brazilian public life. This paper describes results of an empirical study on the frames built by the Folha Universal about the social demands, economic and political governance considered as priorities to the public management by the Iurd around five themes of analysis: public safety; children and adolescents care; public health; environment; politics and economy. The results indicate that, as characteristics of the Folha Universal in the four months prior to the 2010 Brazilian elections, aspects that differ from those indicated by previous studies on the newspaper. Previously detected in the pages of Folha Universal as a mean for finding solutions to social problems, the theology of prosperity was in our sample replaced by the formulation of public policies.