The Relationship of Religious and Existential Variables to Scores on the Animal-Human Continuity Scale

The present study determined relationship of religious and existential variables to scores on Animal-Human Continuity scale that measures extent that respondents view and humans in a dichotomous vs. continuous fashion. The 99 students at an evangelical Southern university scored in a more dichotomous direction than 96 students at a secular Southern university. Also, students who had more of a dichotomous orientation went to church more frequently, had greater belief in God and a life after death, and had greater certainty about God and life after death. On existential instrument, Life Attitude Profile-Revised, a dichotomous orientation was associated with high score on Purpose, Choice/Responsibilities, and Existential Transcendence. Although prominent existentialists have tended to be more humanistic than theistic, in current study higher existential scores were obtained by participants with traditional Christian beliefs.Today, in America, there is a split in philosophical, religious, and scientific worldviews of modern man (Newman, 1987). One aspect of split is between those whose world view is that and humans are dichotomous in nature and those who hold that human beings and are on a continuum. At one extreme are creationists who hold dichotomous view that God created first and then created humans in God's own image in a literal week (Genesis 1:20-27). At other end is a strict evolutionary perspective that suggest that humans only evolved from lowest cell, a continuum that took hundreds of millions of years to develop, and that humans have no spiritual aspects. There are, of course, world views that could be regarded as a blend of two. There are many people who believe that human body can be viewed as a product of evolution but that humanness did not begin until God asserted a soul. Difference in these world views may determine how we treat and each other. Mahatma Ghandi said that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by how it treats its animals (Ridgeway, 2008). The purpose of present study was to correlate church attendance, strength of belief, and existential life attitudes with Animal Human Continuity Scale (Templer, Connelly, Bassman, & Hart, 2006), which assesses extent to which and humans are viewed on a continuum versus a dichotomy.Literature ReviewThis review of literature has two parts. The first part contains traditional views of Christian theologians and philosophers that there is a qualitative difference between humans and with former having a spiritual aspect and latter not possessing such. These scholars often traced roots of their ideas to Plato and Aristotle. The second part consists of cognitive abilities in animal research. These two areas should not be viewed as contradictory. Since humans have body structure and functioning similarity with some animals, it is to be expected that brains and associated cognitive processes would have some similarity. An additional caveat is that authors never conceptualized a one-to-one relationship between one's theological position and score on Animal-Human Continuity Scale.Religious and Philosophical literatureThere is a wide variation of attitudes toward among naturalists, with some viewing them as genetic cousins, while others see them as inferior species (Darwin, 1859). The book of Genesis records that God created world in seven days. God's creation of all species of on day 6 and then humans on day 7 implies distinct differences and importance. Providing humans with dominion over all living things also emphasizes a unique position of humans. Furthermore, making of humans in image of God implies a spiritual aspect to humans.The Greek philosophers, especially Plato and Aristotle, dealt with concept of soul. …