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Creationism is generally the belief that the universe was created by a deity, or alternatively by one or more powerful and intelligent beings. In Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East, the Creator is usually held to be the God of the Abrahamic religions, who, creationists believe, created living organisms "after their kind", as described in the biblical book of Genesis. Creationism, therefore, is often linked to theistic interpretations of nature, though the creating being need not be a deity.
Creationist beliefs may be based on creationist theology, creation science, or a combination of both.
Creationist beliefs
The term "creationism" is used in a variety of ways to describe a number of beliefs regarding the origins of life and the universe. A general creationist belief is that a god or a group of gods created life through a supernatural theistic or mythological construct, through the process of supernaturally-guided evolution (evolutionary creationism or theistic evolution), or through some alternative, non-naturalistic mechanism (e.g. intelligent design or directed panspermia).
A narrower definition motivated by the three major monotheistic world religions is more common, however: that an all-powerful, Abrahamic God created the seen and unseen universe as described in sacred texts relating to creation (in, for example, Genesis). This form of creationism is often subdivided into two categories:
Old Earth creationism itself comes in two flavors: - Gap creationism, also called Restitution creationism — the view that life was immediately created on a pre-existing old Earth. This group generally translates Genesis 1:2 as "The earth became without form and void," indicating a destruction of the original creation by some unspecified cataclysm.
- Day-age creationism — the view that the "six days" of Genesis are not ordinary twenty-four-hour days, but rather much longer periods (for instance, each "day" could be the equivalent of millions of years of modern time). Another theory states that the Hebrew word was mistranslated, and it's supposed to be seven ages. Some adherents claim we are still living in the seventh age ("seventh day").
Creationism, scriptural literalism, and inerrancy Creationist ideas stem both from the Judaeo-Christian Genesis, and the Islamic Quran, which both recount nearly parallel accounts of a six-day creation, Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, Noah's flood, and Abraham.
There are a spectrum of views regarding the degree to which these books should be taken as true. Some believe that the Bible is historically accurate and/or inerrant. Others believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but Genesis should not be taken literally. Still others believe that the Bible is largely fictitious.
Creationists generally fall into the first of these categories, with the majority holding their scriptures to be absolutely and literally inerrant truth. In recent years, however, attitudes have been moving away from absolute literalism and inerrancy to a more nuanced view of the Bible. According to a 1998 Gallup Poll, approximately half the population of the United States believes that "The Bible is the inspired word of God, not everything in it should be taken literally." This compares to a 1963 poll which found that two out of three Americans believed "the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word."
Distribution of creationist views The distribution of creationist and evolutionist views varies widely with geography. In some areas, such as Europe, evolution has achieved near-universality. In other areas, such as the Middle East, a type of creationism based on the locally accepted religious faith is nearly universal. Finally, in places such as the United States, opinions are widely mixed, and the debate rages in educational, political, and some academic circles.
United States In the United States, creationism remains popular among the general population, and unpopular in the academic community. According to a 2001 Gallup evolution poll on the origins of humans, 72% of Americans believe in some form of creationism (as defined above). About 45% of Americans ascribe to the more Biblically literal creationism, believing that "God created man pretty much in his present form at one time within the last 10,000 years.".
Among the scientific community, the Big Bang, Giant impact theory, and biological evolution are overwhelmingly considered to be the correct description of the origins of nature. According to a 1997 Gallup poll, 55% of scientists ascribe to a completely atheistic evolution, with a total rejection of any deistic involvement. In 1987, Newsweek reported: "By one count there are some 700 scientists with respectable academic credentials (out of a total of 480,000 U.S. earth and life scientists) who ascribed to Biblically literal creationism".
In 2000, a People for the American Way poll found that:
- 20% of Americans believe public schools should teach evolution only;
- 17% of Americans believe that only evolution should be taught in science classes- religious explanations should be taught in another class;
- 29% of Americans believe that Creationism should be discussed in science class as a 'belief,' not a scientific theory;
- 13% of Americans believe that Creationism and evolution should be taught as 'scientific theories' in science class;
- 16% of Americans believe that only Creationism should be taught;
The western world outside the United States Because most vocal creationists are from the United States, it is generally assumed that creationist views are not as common elsewhere. Statistics are not clear on the issue.
According to a PBS documentary on evolution, Australian Young Earth Creationists claimed that "five percent of the Australian population now believe that Earth is thousands, rather than billions, of years old." The documentary further states that "Australia is a particular stronghold of the creationist movement." Taking these claims at face value, "young-earth" creationism is very much a minority position in Western countries.
In Europe, creationism is a less well defined phenomenon, and regular polls are not available. However, evolution is taught as scientific fact in all schools. In Roman Catholic-majority countries, papal acceptance of evolution as worthy of study has essentially ended debate on the matter for many people. Nevertheless, creationist groups such as the German Studiengemeinschaft Wort und Wissen[1] (http://www.wort-und-wissen.de/) are actively lobbying there as well. In the United Kingdom the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (previously the Vardy Foundation), which owns two colleges in the north of England and plans to open several more, teaches that creationism and evolution are equally valid "faith positions." In Italy, the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi wanted to retire evolution from schools in the middle level; after one week of massive protests, he reversed his opinion. [2] (http://www2.onnachrichten.t-online.de/dyn/c/19/01/33/1901336.html)
Of particular note for Eastern Europe, Serbia suspended the teaching of evolution for one week in 2004, under education minister Ljiljana Colic, only allowing schools to reintroduce evolution into the curriculum if they also taught creationism. [3] (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/09/09/wdarw09.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/09/09/ixworld.html) "After a deluge of protest from scientists, teachers and opposition parties," says the BBC report, Ms. Colic's deputy made the statement, "I have come here to confirm Charles Darwin is still alive," and announced that the decision was reversed. [4] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3642460.stm) Ms. Colic resigned after the government said that she had caused "problems that had started to reflect on the work of the entire government". [5] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3663196.stm)
Islamic creationism In the Islamic world, due to the continued prevalence of religious belief, the theory of evolution has not yet taken hold, and traditional Islamic beliefs regarding creation remain dominant. However, several liberal movements within Islam, which are generally partial to secular scientific thought, subscribe to evolution.
In recent years, however, due to increased contact between Islamic and Western cultures, the arguments of "intelligent design"-style creationism have grown in popularity in parts of the Islamic world and among Muslim immigrants in the Western diaspora.
The centre of the Islamic creationist movement is Turkey. Its main exponent is the writer Harun Yahya (or. Adnan Oktar, b. 1956) who uses the Internet for the propagation of his ideas. His BAV (Bilim Araştırma Vakfı/ Science Research Foundation) organizes conferences with leading American creationists. Another leading advocate of Islamic creationism is Fethullah Gülen (b. 1941).
The movement seems to have a considerable following in Indonesia and Malaysia whereas interest seems to be low in the Arabic countries and Iran. As in the Western context, the theory of evolution is held responsible for a materialist worldview that is the alleged base of many societal problems and negative political developments.
Islam also has its own brand of evolutionary creationism, which holds that mainstream scientific analysis of the origin of the universe is supported by the Koran. [6] (http://www.submission.org/universe.html)
External links
Supporting links
Creationist links - The Origin of Man (http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/2002.htm/ensign%20february%202002.htm/gospel%20classics%20%20the%20origin%20of%20man.htm?fn=document-frameset.htm$f=templates$3.0)
- Answers in Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org/) "Answers in Genesis is a Christian apologetics ministry that equips the church to uphold the authority of the Bible from the very first verse."
- Center for Scientific Creation (http://www.creationscience.com/)
- Institute for Creation Research (http://www.icr.org/)
- Creation Moments (http://www.creationmoments.com/) - Radio archives, transcripts.
- Trueorigin.org (http://www.trueorigin.org/)
Scientific mainstream links - National Science Teachers Association (http://www.nsta.org/positionstatement&psid=10) Position Statement: The Teaching of Evolution
- National Association of Biology Teachers (http://www.nabt.org/sub/position_statements/evolution.asp) Statement on Teaching Evolution
- National Center for Science Education (http://www.ncseweb.org/)
- About creationism (http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/cs/creationism/index.htm)
- creationism (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/science/creationism/)
- Duane Gish debunking (http://mypage.direct.ca/w/writer/gish.html)
- talkorigins.org (http://www.talkorigins.org/)
- Creationism vs. Science (http://www.creationtheory.org/)
- Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.nap.edu/books/0309064066/html/) by the Steering Committee on Science and Creationism, National Academy of Sciences
- Links to Islamic creationist and anti-creationists websites (http://omnibus.uni-freiburg.de/~riexinge/EvolutionIslam.html)
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