Conflict or Complementary: Black Student Perspectives on Science and Religion

Part of a larger multi-institutional research project, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore Black undergraduate STEM majors’ perspectives on the relationship between religion and science and the various factors that inform their perceptions regarding science as their pathway of study. Drawing on boundary construction as a theoretical framework, two research questions guided this study: how do Black STEM majors view the relationship between science and religion; and what experiences have shaped their perspectives of the relationship between science and religion? After conducting interviews with 65 collaborators (38 Biology and 27 non-Biology majors) across four higher education institutions, our data analytic process led to three core findings that included: 1.) firm boundaries: religion and science as conflicting; 2.) blurred boundaries: religion and science as complementary; and 3.) influential modeling of co-existence. With these three core themes in mind, we provide implications for research and practice in higher education.