Creationism in Public Schools Essay

Because of this, it should be taught in schools just as other theory with scientific proof. “Evolution should be one of the first things you learn in school…and what they (children) get instead? Sacred hearts and incense. Shallow, empty religion.”[Sunday Telegraph (UK) interview with Richard Dakins, Sept.26, 1999]. This shows that kids would not be learning all about how humans or animals came about and if you don’t know of a theory to at least give you and idea, and then you are not fully informed to what you should know. Some people think along the lines of “I have encountered a few “creationists” and because they were usually nice, intelligent people, I have been unable to decide whether they were _ really _ mad, or only pretending to be mad. If I as a religious person, I would consider creationism nothing less then blasphemy. Do its adherents imagine that God is a cosmic hoaxer who has created that whole vast fossil record for the sole purpose of misleading mankind?”[Arthur C. Clarke, June 5, 1998, in the essay “Presidents, Experts, and Asteroids,” pp 5322-3]. Sentices have found many fossils that show the evolution of certain species. The fossils show the species at different stages of their development. This contradicts the basis of creatisum which states that God created each specie as we know it today. So how do creationists say that evolution is not true? Evloution has proof,so why not teach it in schools?

upon as evil by the born-again Christian community, and they are saying that evolution is

As a parent of a student that attends this school system, I would like to take the time to explain to you why I do not believe that incorporating intelligent design and creationism into the curriculum in our schools is a good idea, nor one that will further the intelligence of our kids but will rather, waste their time and leave them ill prepared for their futures in a university setting where the only thing that is taught is the valid truth of the Theory of Evolution.

It is vital that present and future generations of school children in American public schools continue to be taught and understand Charles Darwin’s theories about evolution. Battles have been waged by Americans both in and out of the courtroom for generations so that educators may have the privilege to choose appropriate scientific curriculum for our students. If America is to continue to be a leader of scientific research, young minds must be educated, not stifled by attempts to bring religion into the schools. The very idea of using valuable time in our schools to muddy the educational process with ideas such as Creationism or Intelligent Design infringes upon American civil rights. To

School Boards want to implement to creationism and evolution into the classrooms. Some parents challenge the religiosity of others. Children in the classroom mark schoolmates as descendants of monkeys and researchers are criticized as vendors of secularism and operators of Satan.

Creationism has undeniable facts. Many think it should be taught and at least be given a fair chance to be put up against evolution. Evolution also has some true undeniable facts as well. As we learn more and more every day, those facts tend to change though, unlike creationism which has stayed the same since the beginning of time.

For years the United States government, and the majority of the science community, has been pushing creationism out of the science classroom in favor of evolution, because creationism is considered unscientific by most scientists (Baker). Many scientists think that creationism shouldn’t even be mentioned, for fear of legitimizing what they think is unscientific (Reece). Regardless of all of this, the United States public acceptance of evolution remains low and support for creationism remains high compared to other western countries (Baker). Because of this there are some scientists and educators pushing for teachers to start

The main argument of creationism is that most of their ideals are just as scientific as any scientific practice, and therefore should be taught over evolution. The problem, in this situation, lies

For decades, the debate of religion in public schools has run rampant through the American people, and it has swept the nation info a vicious battle between opposing political and moral ideals. The topic of creationism and the position that it should be taught as a well-supported theory opposing evolution (concerning the origin of species) is an especially heated subject of disagreement. However, the argument that creation is an acceptable scientific alternative to evolution is fundamentally flawed; the terms “theory” and “science” are garishly misused by creationists attempting to validate their viewpoints with little to no regard for the words’ actual meanings. In addition, the conflict between creationists and evolutionists has led to many legal and political struggles through the decades of conflict between the two ideologies. Points of law used by both sides range from national treaties to the smallest of legal defenses and interpretations of the law – no piece of legislature goes unscrutinized in each sides’ offensive to gain a foothold in the fight. Furthermore, the scientific support for creationist ideas is minimal – almost nonexistent. Areas of the United States still allowing the practice of teaching creation as a science also reveal a startling correlation between religious beliefs and functional scientific knowledge, as well as the effect of creationist beliefs on the education of children. The misrepresentation of

     Scientific creationism should be included in our public school curriculum because it is paramount to the progress of modern science. Duane Gish, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Berkeley, says, “…neither creation nor evolution may be referred to as scientific theory since neither can offer eyewitness evidence of what happened in the past.” Gish further

many people want to allow a religious view of creationism to be taught in the

If public school teachers want to inform students about creationism, they should do so in a religion class, not a science class.

As seen from the infographic, Creationism meets absolutely none of the requirements to be considered a science; for instance, Creationism has no physical evidence, is not repeatable, and has no backing from any other branch of science. In this specific instance, evolution is the comparative to Creationism. Unlike its counterpart, evolution can be repeatedly tested because it is still happening to this day while the beliefs of Creationism seem to have occurred only once. Additionally, if Creationism was to have any evidence, it would probably be the Bible, but not even that has scientific backing. Along with this Creationism cannot be backed by any branch of science, due to the fact that it does not follow the scientific method. Due to this, Creationism cannot be considered a science and in turn cannot be taught in place of a science curriculum. Despite this, Creationists still press for some form of their religious beliefs to be taught in the public school system.

Creationism and Intelligent Design theories should be taught in public schools with evolution. “The idea that students should hear both sides of the evolution debate enjoys widespread popular support. An opinion poll from the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that creationism, in some form, should be taught alongside evolution”(Warnick, 2009, p. 305).” Creation and Intelligent Design theories should be taught in public schools, with evolution. Teaching about evolution with no clarity of how or if it fits with biblical creation can cause confusion, especially for students raised in only a biblical creationist setting may not know if the two are reconcilable. Teaching about just creationism without clarifying how or if the two are reconcilable causes the same situation as above.

Creationism has been a controversial topic in our school systems and schools in some states are fighting to have it taught instead of evolution as a science. Creationism is the belief that all living organisms originated from a biblical process instead of evolution. We will never really know how the earth was created, but by the use of science, we can get a better understanding of it. Therefore creationism should not be taught as a science and should not be taught in school.