The present work aims to identify some factors that might influence lower secondary school students' acceptance of evolution in France, with a focus on religion. A closed questionnaire was designed based on previous research documenting students' conceptions of evolution, as well as existing concept inventories targeting older students. About 1600 students (aged 11 to 15) took part in the study. Quantitative analyses using multivariate analyses was conducted. Results highlight that more than a third of the students surveyed rejected the evolution of living species, regardless of the species considered in the question (humans, animals) and regardless of the class level (grade 6 to grade 9). Their declared religious beliefs strongly influenced their degree of acceptance, expressed in a school context in France.