© 2010 SAGE Publications ISSN 0963-6625 DOI: 10.1177/0963662509358502 Public perception of evolution and the rise of evolutionary psychology in Finland Vienna Setälä and Esa Väliverronen In this paper we analyse the media debate in Finland that began after the publication in Science of a survey on the public acceptance of evolution. According to the results Finland ranked 17th among 34 countries. This was unexpected in a secular high tech nation with a consistent top performance in international comparative surveys on public education. We trace the main argu- ments in this debate in relation to previous studies on the public understanding of science and argue that newspaper claims of declining acceptance of evolu- tionism in Finland were based on rather ambivalent data. Furthermore, in the debate, evolutionary theory became a metonymy for science in society. The results published in Science provided a platform for a critique of religion and alternative movements, something quite uncommon in Finnish media. Finally, the debate was taken as an opportunity to promote evolutionary psychology as a legitimate social science. Keywords: deficit model, evolutionary psychology, evolutionary theory, Finland, media, science barometer 1. Introduction In August 2006, the journal Science carried an article on the public acceptance of evolution in Europe and the United States. It prompted a debate in the Finnish media. The article appeared to indicate that people in Finland, who had previously done very well in European surveys measuring scientific literacy, were having serious difficulties with basic Darwinian truths. According to the survey, only 66 per cent of the Finnish population accepted the basic tenets of evolutionary theory, while 27 per cent had serious doubts. The publication of these results attracted intense interest in the Finnish media: there were references to “superstitious Finland,” claims that “evolution is not a matter of faith,” that “Finland is not a Western European country in relation to evolutionism.” The results were surprising and unexpected in this secular high tech nation that had consistently rated among the top performers in European comparative surveys of the public understanding of science (e.g. Eurobarometer) and public education (e.g. PISA). In the Finnish media, the explanations offered for the country’s unusually low ranking referred to the rise of religious or other anti- science movements. The Finnish “knowledge society” was facing unexpected difficulties. SAGE PUBLICATIONS (www.sagepublications.com) PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE Public Understand. Sci. 1? (2010) 1–16 Public Understanding of Science OnlineFirst, published on March 24, 2010 as doi:10.1177/0963662509358502