Should Creationism be taught in Public Schools? Essay

Throughout the class discussion I found it appalling that around 15% of my classmates were believers in Creationism. Whether their beliefs were due to religion, or a lack of schooling in biology an underlying factor such

Creationism has long been ruled out of public education and science. Creationists reject most of modern science in favor of a literal reading of the Bible. They believe that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old and God created everything fully formed (including humans). People in opposition against Intelligent Design think that in the eyes of creationists, the so called “intelligent designer” is God. Meanwhile, Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor. Once Darwin had proposed that the natural processes could have produced every species on this planet, including humans, the creationists felt that this theory took God out of the picture. Centuries later, like many people in Dover, many people in the US agree. Somewhere between a third and half the US population doesn’t accept

The debate over teaching evolution in public schools is not new at all but the debate has been elevated through the media over the past few years. Conservative Christians and other conservatives serving on school boards (particularly in the South) have been insisting that if schools are going to buy textbooks that have evolution chapters then they should also have a place in that textbook near the evolution chapter for creationism. Progressives and scholars that understand the scientific basis for evolution argue that there's nothing wrong with putting creationism or "intelligent design" in textbooks but that subject is not science-based and therefore should be published in the "religion" chapter (if there is one). Should evolution be taught in public schools? The answer is yes, most certainly; to ignore evolution is to deprive public school students of some of the most important knowledge relating to our planet and our society. Scientific ignorance is unacceptable in a country that calls itself the "greatest nation on earth."

It would be an understatement to claim that the realms of faith and reason rarely conflict. Since the earliest days of scientific inquiry, these two spheres of thought have been locked in a vicious battle, only letting up as religion has gradually modernized to accommodate newer understandings of the universe. But, as is the nature of any age-old debate, the fires fueling this conflict have once again been fed, this time with the controversy surrounding the teaching of Intelligent Design in public schools. The proponents of this alternative “theory” to the origins of life claim that they have been silenced by the Darwinian establishment and support integrating their ideas into the classroom through such means as textbook disclaimers or

The question as to whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools is a very emotional and complex question. It can be looked at from several different angles, its validity being one of them. Despite the lack of evidence to support the fundamentalist idea of creationism, that in itself is not enough to warrant its exclusion from the curriculum of public schools in the United States. The question is far more involved and complex.

The theory of creationism versus the theory of evolution is a controversial topic worldwide. The topic delves further into whether creationism should or should not be taught in public schools. While evolution is a theory that says modern plants and animals evolved by a natural process over time, creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originated from specific acts of divine creation. Because evolution and creationism are both theories, creationism should be taught with as much validity as the teaching of evolution in public school. Since the early 1990’s creationism has become more and more a plausible theory. The historical events of creationism dates back all the way to the creation of mankind and the universe. Various evidence, such as the universe, point towards an intelligent designer and should therefore be taught in public schools.

Despite great efforts to convince the opposing side, a battle still brews amongst creationists and evolutionists over the beginning of life and the universe, but neither opinions’ palpability can be firmly upheld through scientific manners. Since science can only prove hypotheses that are testable and based on current observations, neither creation nor evolutionary concepts can be proven with irrefutable evidence. However, regardless of the inability to prove either concept, most public school systems promote evolution as a scientific fact. Many students who lack firm beliefs about the origin of life believe what they are taught without giving any personal thought to the matter. Instead of robotically absorbing biased information,

     The issue of whether creationism should be taught in public schools, rather than evolution, is a new one. It has only been in the past fifty years that it has even been in debate. Public school science classes, when discussing the origins of life on Earth, coincided with Sunday school classes. Students learned that the Earth, universe and everything else was created in seven days, by God, as stated in the Old Testament. It was not until recently with the rise of scientific reason and equal rights organizations did these teachings become questioned. The argument spurs from each person’s personal belief, and that is where things get complicated.

The theory is made in assumption that pure creationism, for obvious reasons, can never pass as unaffiliated with religion, and thus can never be taught in government-funded public schools. As of now, its proponents’ claims for the earth’s age vary between 6000 and 4.5 billion years ago, as long as God did it (Branch). Rather than relying on scientific evidence, intelligent design thrives on the most miniscule of holes in evolutionary fossil records and the unfathomability of a living cell being created from inorganic matter. These holes are then complemented with ignorance of viable proof of evolution; proponents of the field have managed to turn these two elements in a supposed science. However, the yet infantile theory has still made its way to public schools in five states, with as many as twenty states currently debating the validity of evolution education.

Since so many Americans believe that the theory of evolution does not explain why humans are the way they are, why teach it to our children? It doesn’t even make sense! The theory of evolution goes against many religions as well, like Christianity for example. We should be allowed to vote for what they teach children in schools. How would you like it if the government decides what your children are learning and you don’t get a say in it? Especially if it goes against your beliefs. Some say that science fails to view the true nature of the world when it declines to accept anything other than material evidence. Evolution is the same, it only wants to accept material evidence. Evolution is like a book that has some errors. How can it turn into a different story with only those errors? Who would believe that old books with typos in them create new books (Vedantam)? So, in conclusion, whose side of the line do you stand

Choosing to teach select forms of evolution creates the assumption that the theories currently taught in school are all proven facts. This message further conveys to public school students that their religious beliefs are void because they are not taught. “But other scientists — some religious and others not — argue that condemning religion not only disrespects the majority of Americans who profess a faith but also undermines the public's support for science and ultimately threatens America's economic competitiveness (Price).” The bottom line is, failure to teach alternatives theories of evolution is school is a disservice to students and may play a major role in their life decisions when it comes to their faith and future career choices. The mere fact that Darwinism and Big Bang remain theories after so many years should be enough to introduce students to many theories and allow them the right to choose for themselves what they believe

There has been various debates around the world about evolution that it should be taught in school or not. Evolution is a theory which states the origin of time, space and mater came to be from a blast (Cosmic Evolution) and the species on earth changed over time due to the influence of natural selection, while Creationism is a belief that the universe and everything in it was created by a divine. The current curriculum teach evolution, even though they do not have enough evidences to prove it, and it is not science. Do you believe in it or not? “Science is something that we can observe, study, test and demonstrate.”

     “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Words of this nature have been questioned for thousands of years—by naturalists, materialists, humanists, etc.—and, in more recent times, have led to court cases, heated arguments, and public debates. The major debate intended to be covered in this piece is that of whether or not evolution should be taught in classrooms. Also, if it is to be taught, should it be taught as fact or theory? It is also intended to present enough evidence to disprove evolution altogether and, as a result, make it much less than a theory, but actually the vain opinions of a man who chose not to accept the truth.

Although, Eighty-three percent of people only want evolution taught to students, and only three out of ten people view creationism as a science. The problem with implementing the idea into schools, or not teaching evolution until college like some have suggested, is that it would stunt student’s learning or even make them uninterested in learning about such things as evolution and other biological theories (Bybee). (B) The Creation Research Society has even attempted to publish a scientific paper on creationism; however, since it is considered a religious belief, they cannot publish the paper due to the issue of religious bias, and whether or not students can really decide what is fact rather than belief. Many believe that students are more than capable enough to know which theory is true and valid.

Public schools are a place to learn proven facts and some very well—known and accepted theories. These schools have been led this way for a long time and show no signs of changing. Many states around the country have rejected the teaching of creationism in public schools, since the subject is so controversial among teachers and parents. In Ohio, a bill to develop new science content standards was not successfully passed. Many creationists were upset when they discovered that the first drafts of the standards were filled with evolutionary content, without any allowance for alternative explanations of life’s origins. In the uproar, the state board held a special meeting to investigate the process that the writing team and advisory committee used to draft the science standards (Matthews, Answering Genesis). This is why learning the facts about evolution should be taught at school. By doing this, there would be much less confrontation between teachers, students, and parents. If one has the desire to learn about creationism or any other beliefs of how the world came to be, one should learn it at a place outside of school, such as church or at home.