Evolution continues to be a controversial topic around the world but nowhere is this more apparent locally than in the Southeastern region of the USA. In this study, we explored acceptance and rejection of evolution among pre-service science teachers in a teaching college in the rural Southeast and sought to determine (1) what relationships exist between the worldview variables and acceptance of evolution among pre-service secondary science teachers? and (2) Which combination of these variables explains the most statistically significant amount of variance in acceptance of evolution among pre-service secondary science teachers? Regression analysis was used to determine the best-fit model predicting levels of acceptance in this sample, explaining 45 % of variance in acceptance of evolution in 4 variables. The result of this study sheds light on possible remediation for low acceptance of evolution and directions for improved preparation of future science teachers relative to teaching and learning evolution.