Evolution v Creationism/Intelligent Design
Let there be no mistake: the religionists are following their successful strategy in the US of seeking and obtaining the patronage of the politicians. Recently the Minister of Education, Science and Training, Brendan Nelson, averred that he could see no problem in the teaching of 'intelligent design'! This is a profound change to the basis of knowledge, the teaching of children, the funding of schools and university courses and curricula generally. According to Workplace Relations Minister, Kevin Andrews, "...the recent growth in non-government schools has been largely the smaller Christian schools in outer-suburban areas of capital cities".What happened to the knowledge-based society?
As Robert Marshall pointed out in a recent article in The Age, creation science has been made mandatory in some schools in the Midwestern Belt of the US. In Australia the creationists are currently promoting their cause under the mantra of 'intelligent design', which seeks to explain the complexity of biological development and outstanding questions of 'purpose' as the work of a master, i.e. God. This is the very reverse of the basic methodology underlying all scientific advances. As soon as one asks "why?" and so allows purpose to enter the discuss, there are no more questions to ask.
While Darwinists have no serious doubt that evolution happens, the mechanisms controlling the development of individual animals are still obscure; and though knowledge of DNA has opened many avenues there are no clear ways of understanding the chemical effects and how the organic network operates.
As George Monbiot (who incidentally quotes Brendan Nelson's remark above) says, the Christian Taliban have not yet won. He sees them as cherry-picking the data that supports their case, in spite of the accumulation of evidence - from the fossil record, to genetics, to direct observation - instead of assailing, for example, the big bang theory. The reason, expressed by G. Thomas Sharp of the Creation Truth Foundation, who admitted to the Chicago Tribune, "if we lose Genesis as a legitimate scientific and historical explanation for man, we lose the validity of Christianity. Period."
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently issued a scathing indictment of the Bush Administration's record on science. Its report, entitled "Science Under Siege" was issued on June 21. It documents the White House's distortion, abuse and quashing of legitimate scientific inquiry in order to promote its political agenda. Then they commissioned the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) to draft the report entitled "Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking", citing such hot topics as government backing for creationism over evolution, and State intervention in the case of Terry Schiavo. Similarly the US National Academy of Sciences sums it up with the following quote:
"Creationism and intelligent design and other claims of supernatural intervention in the origin of life or of species are not science because they are not tested by the methods of science."
There does not seem to be the same response from a similar scientific group in Australia. It is more important perhaps to consider the effect of the 'creation-as-science' movement on public education and institutions of learning. As Ann Morrow asks, "Will graduates of institutions that teach anti-evolutionary theories be capable of making contributions to the knowledge society? Or will they be disadvantaged in comparison to their peers from more orthodox courses?" In November last year, Professor Glyn Davis, Melbourne University Vice Chancellor, alerted us to the growth of new tertiary institutions that, whilst they do not meet Ministerial Council of Education, Employment, Training and Youth protocols for accreditation as universities, are able to offer 'public university places'. The dilemma of avoiding the State as central 'curriculum policeman' - and rightly so - could best be tackled by a re-definition of 'the public system' as those schools that practise the values of "social inclusiveness to all students, and adherence to the public curriculum".
To finish on an encouraging note, the Evolution television series and curriculum kit for an educational outreach initiative are available from WGBH Boston. It was prepared by Dr Jane Goodall, CBE, Dr Keith Miller, Dr Stephen Jay Gould, Dr Eugenie Scott, Rev Canon Dr Arthur Peacocke and Rev Dr Arnold Thomas. Titles include Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Great Transformations, Extinction!, The Evolutionary Arms Race, Why Sex?, The Mind's Big Bang, What About God?
