Cues, Values and Conflict: Reassessing Evolution Wars Media Persuasion

Authors

  • Thomas Aechtner School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Queensland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0296-9339

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/SetF.2020.021

Keywords

Antievolutionism, Intelligent Design, Cultural Cognition, Moral Foundations, New Atheism, Media Persuasion

Abstract

It has been posited that persuasive cues impart Evolution Wars communications with persuasive force extending beyond the merits of their communicated arguments.  Additionally, it has been observed that the array of cues displayed throughout proevolutionist materials is exceeded in both the number and nuance of Darwin-skeptic persuasion techniques.  This study reassesses these findings by exploring how persuasive cues in the Evolution Wars are being articulated with reference to the Cultural Cognition Thesis and Moral Foundations Theory.  Observations of Institute for Creation Research, Answers in Genesis, and the Center for Science and Culture media are reevaluated.  These findings are juxtaposed with data pertaining to Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, National Center for Science Education, and BioLogos Foundation broadcasts.  The outcomes reveal how values claims and morally charged language are concentrated within the works of antievolutionists and New Atheist media makers, who collectively promote some manner of religion-science conflict.

Author Biography

Thomas Aechtner, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences University of Queensland

Thomas Aechtner is the University of Queensland’s Senior Lecturer in Religion and Science.  He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Calgary, and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta.  His primary work lies in contemporary science-and-religion discourse, with a focus on religiously motivated antievolutionism, vaccine hesitancies, mass persuasion, and public perceptions of science.

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2020-10-30

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AECHTNER, Thomas. Cues, Values and Conflict: Reassessing Evolution Wars Media Persuasion. Scientia et Fides. Online. 30 October 2020. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 249-284. [Accessed 3 July 2025]. DOI 10.12775/SetF.2020.021.

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Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020): Philosophical and Theological Aspects of Evolution

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