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Show THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAHUNIVERSl'l'Y • WEDNESDAY~l'EBRUAllY22, 1995 FOCUS: CONVOCATION Creationists still pushing for equal time Tomorrow's Convocation peaker, Eugenie cott, ha b en both a researcher and an activist in the creationi m/evolution controver y for several year . The followin is an excerpt from an article he wrote for Natural History magazine in July, 1994. "Late la t year, a letter received at the National Center for Science Education from ne of our Alaskan members reminded me that even though some things change in the creation-evolution conflict, old battles continue. "My job is to help teachers teach evolution when they are pre ured not to, and to help people cop with attempts to in rt the biblical tory o{ the Creation into science etas e . The letter alerted me that the Alaska State Board of Education was debating a requir ment that teacher give crcationi m equal tatu along ide evolution in cicncc cla c , v n though the upreme Court outlawed uch 'equal tim 'provi ions in 19 7." Fortunately, "cooler heads prcvaiJed and the requirement wa not added to the guideline . But more frequently, I am confronted by evolved form f creationi m designed to sidestep the legal prohibition . "Antievolutioni min America i largely the creature of a Chri tian fundamenta list theology that wa built upon five core beliefs, called ' the Fundamentals,' which had crystallized by about 1915. The fir t of the e argued that the Bible should be read literally, not interpreted. The Bible said not only that God created the universe, but also howaJl at one time, over six 24-hour days, and only a few thousand year ago. Evolution contradicted tbe biblical account of the Creation by propo ing that the universe came into being over a vast period of time, and that living forms descended with modification from earlier ones. Most Catholic and Prote tant clergy, while tre sing the ultimate creative role of the Deity, were willing to leave the details to science, but fundamentali t rejected any such compromi e. "Fundamentali t did not oppose evolution ju t becau e they believed it contradict d God's Word. After all, so did spherical- arth geology and heliocentrism; but by the early twentieth century, few Chri tians interpreted the Bible literally n tho e i ues. The evidenc of cience on th shape and location of the earth i also accepted by mo t creationists today, although some still argue that the 'My job is to help teachers teach evolution when they are pressured not to, and to help people cope with attempts to insert the biblical story of the Creation into science classes,' said Eugenie Scott, tomorrow's. SUU Convocation speaker. earth is the center of the solar system. "But tum-of-the-century funda mentali ts were convinced, as a.re their modern descendants, tha t acceptance of evolution breeds not only theological problems but also moral ones. The most influential creationist of this century, Henry M. Morris, has blamed evolutionary theory for 'communism, fascism, Freudianism, social Darwinism, behaviorism, Kinseyism, materialism, atheism, and, in the religious world, modernism and neo- orth doxy.' Thew rry i that if children learn volution they will rej ct God. Lacking faith, children may accept 'nature red in tooth and cJaw' as the only morality and fall into evil ways. Believers in evolution, according to Morri , will be lost to salvation and face eternal damnation. "After J96 , when th attempt to cxclud evolutionary teachin from the public school was outlawed by a d ci ion of the Supreme Court, crcationi t sought equaJ time for their own views. Since the teaching of religious beliefs would violate Lhe constitutional eparation of church and tate, creati mst repackaged the Bible a cienc to give it a legitimate p ition in the curriculum. The result was the birth of 'scientific crcationi rn,' the ide::i that cient.ific data exi t to document the udden creation of the univer e in the not-too-di tant pa t. "Overwhelmingl , scienti ts who have analyzed the e argument have concluded that creat10n cience mi tat cv lutionary theory, pre ent erroneou data, and reveal a gro s mi understanding of the nature f science. But during the 1970s, several organizations ucce sfully promoted the idea that creationj m and evolution should be taught side by ide in science clas e a 'two models' or 'two theorie .' "By the late J970 , at lea t 26 state legi latures were considering 'equaJ t~me' laws. Two stares, Arkansas and Louisiana, pa sed such legi lation, and both laws were immediately challenged in the courts and struck down. "In 1987, the Louisiana case reached the Supreme Court, which proclaimed that creationism is inherently a religious idea. Its t aching thus represents a tate advocacy of religion, violating the establishment clause of the £irst amendment to the Constitution." Science ed closely watched Evolution describes to "enhancin the integrity of cience education and oppo ing creationi t politics in By MICHAEL P. DONOVAN public education." UU PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY Scott, in addition to her work with NC E, i In th late 1970s, group o1 cientists, an active, published re earcher in medical teacher , clergy and intere ted citizen , anthropology and human keletal biology. Her appalled at the appearance of research earned her election to the California Academy of bills in tate lcgi latures promoting BiblicaJ literalist Sciences in 1994. religious doctrine under the he has held offices in guise of "scientific" professional anthropological creationi m, formed state-level organizations, everal natipnal information networks know as counciJs to promote separation of church and state, and the Committees of Correspondence. Named after activist groups in Board of Directors of the th American colonial period, Biological Sciences the CC's ought to share Curriculum Study (BSCS). She information on issues of public frequently appears on radio and television, as well as writing policy. In 1983 the fifty state articles, as a spokesperson for organizations incorporated as the National Center for Science scientific views opposing pseudoscientific explanations Education and in 1986 the Center received major grant of all sorts. Her broadcast appearances support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and SUU Professor of Biology have been on programs as the Esther A. and Joseph Michael P. Donovan diverse as "Geraldo," CNN's Klingenstein Fund, enabling it - -- -- - - - -- - "Crossfire," "All Things to hire Eugenie C. Scott as Executive Director. .Considered," and "The Pat Buchanan Show." Her work for the center includes in-service Scott's Convocation presentation, "Echoes teacher training institutes, publication of of Darwinism," can be expected to address journals, pamphlets and media productions, educational, legal, scientific and social issues public information events, and textbook raised by the sectarian challenge to science and science education by the advocates of evaluation and improvement. The Center's charter and grants dedicate it "scientific" creationism. ,~ .-•I I humankind's histor (Con tinued from page 16) "What might a humanist make of thi ? Humani ts tend to look o science rather than revelation to under tand the universe, and cience tells u that our pecie does not teeter at the top of the sea la natura but i in tead a product of the same evolutionary proce e that produce hare , hornets, and hor eradi h. ''If we look only at DNA, it i difficult to tell u from modern apes. We are part of a web of life, and from thi we might infer that there i not material ba is for the belief of some that human kind is a superior form de erving complete authority over aU other living things. "Might we not, realizing this kinship, move to a more modest view of our place in nature, rather than, as under the old revelatory doctrines, believing ourselves superior and omnipotent? "Evolution tells us where we came from, and . describes our history as a species. It shows us how very similar life on Earth truly is. (As my friend· biochemist Bill Thwaites says, 'You've seen one eukaryote, you've seen them all.') "I think the facts of science require us to evolve a relationship with the rest of nature that more accurately reflects our common history. Far from being a philosophy of speciesism, humanism should reflect this understanding fi:om science, if scientific reasoning truly is an important source of our philosophy." 'If we look only at DNA, it is difficult to tell us from modern apes,' says Eugenie Scott, tomorrow's SUU Convocation speoker. |