WHY CREATIONISM? AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE CONSTRUCTION AND CULTURE OF PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC THEISM

For over 150 years, sectarian opposition to evolution has remained strong. Modern anti-evolutionists are well-organized and well-funded and they reach more people via the internet today than ever before. Despite repeated losses in the courts and thorough refutation by the scientific community, scientific creationism survives. The persistence of creationism can in part be blamed on the poor quality of the public school biology curriculum, where evolution is commonly mistreated or ignored. However, a poor understanding of evolution plays only a minor role in the construction of anti-evolutionist convictions.

Scientific creationism is a specific type of Christian apologetic that provides external evidence for what is already viewed as biblically true. Apologetic literature in defense of the inerrancy of the Bible is especially popular among conservative Christian college students and heavily influences their view of science. Here the line between apologetics and falsifiable science is heavily blurred. The merit of scientific evidence is judged by how closely it matches accepted biblical interpretation. In turn, a literal hermeneutics is rarely justified in terms other than its importance to ethical concerns. Creationists effectively use moral arguments when reaching out to students and the public. Hence, because the perceived need for a creationist’s interpretation of the scientific evidence is rooted primarily in theological and ethical reasons, refutation of creationist’s scientific arguments merely removes the apologetic but not the root cause of anti-evolutionism. In my own experience, most creationist students are motivated by theological and ethical reasons and care little about the scientific debate.

As educators in the public schools we are very limited in the extent to which relevant theological and ethical issues can be discussed. Furthermore, most of us have little knowledge of the scriptural arguments that motivate our creationist students. For these limiting reasons we need to work more closely with members of the religious community. Changing attitudes towards evolution will only come through efforts within the religious community, not from without.