Irksome to many scientists, creationism refuses to die.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 44 percent of Americans believe that humanity did not evolve, but was created in its present form.
Darwin's irresistible force seems to have met an immovable object, and the evolutionists appear blind to the reason for the standstill. They mischaracterize the debate as one between science and religion, while the question for most Americans is closer to "which science?" or "which religion?"
The way many see it, the sides are neatly laid out: one appeals to scientific evidence, while the other clings to dogmatic faith. This both mischaracterizes modern creationism and misunderstands the reasons for which people accept scientific theories.
Modern creation science is a relatively new movement, appearing first in the 1960s. While religious, it bills itself as science rather than as religion. It boldly challenges evolution on its own grounds: objective evidence.
People who do not believe in evolution are not idiots, and don't swallow creation stories without careful thought. Very few people are willing to adopt a theory on authority alone, be it the authority of a priest's collar or of a lab coat.
The Enlightenment has trickled down even to the Baptist South - people want reasons for what they believe. Creation science gives them sensible arguments that people at different educational levels can understand. These range from easily refuted questions to more demanding ones about transitional fossils.
Creation science gives people what they want: participation in scientific reasoning.
The creationist worldview, if we can excuse some of the fundamentalist excess, is really quite elegant. Just as Adam and Eve were put into the garden to care for creation, humanity ought to be a steward of nature, guarding rather than exploiting it.
Because the world was once a deathless, peaceful utopia, it is possible to believe that it will someday be idyllic again. This seems much more humane than the "nature, red in tooth and claw" assumptions of science.
Evolutionists mistake the reason most people accept or reject a scientific theory. While they care about facts, their real concern is with finding a philosophy to make sense of the world they see. Creationism's greatest attraction is not its evidence, but its bundled philosophy.
Proponents of evolution need not only bring their arguments down to the layperson, they must pay attention to the philosophy they present.
Complaining that "science doesn't go into philosophy" won't cut it, because to nearly half of the American populace, science does imply an ideology.
Especially prohibitive for doubters of evolution is the larger reality implied by atheistic evolution: a universe unfathomably old and large, propelled by impersonal forces and hurtling toward a bleak future. While there is a certain grandeur in the cosmos - in the words of poet Geoffrey Landis, "I am nothing and nobody; atoms that have learned to look at themselves; dirt that has learned to see the awe and the majesty of the universe" - that grandeur freaks many people out.
Without getting into the possibilities of a God-driven evolution, evolutionists can remain silent on the issue of divinity and focus on the more likable parts of the scientific worldview. This includes a rather sunny picture of humanity as a gifted student, able to help run the class.
It also features a conviction that everything is ultimately understandable, and that we can profoundly improve society by applying our growing knowledge. Furthermore, life is seen as profoundly connected - at the cellular level, we have a lot in common with even trees and bugs.
The real debate is not "science" versus "religion," but evolutionary science versus creation science and evolutionary philosophy versus creationist philosophy. And until those who argue for evolution understand that, they will be unable to convince the remaining 44 percent of America.
Brandon Hendrickson is a survivor of the evolution/creation wars, and would love to take a motley crew of evolutionists and creationists out for a drink. Write him at Brandon.Hendrickson@asu.edu.
