Timeline of intelligent design

Last updated

This timeline of intelligent design outlines the major events in the development of intelligent design as presented and promoted by the intelligent design movement.

Contents

Creationism

Creation science school textbooks and the Foundation for Thought and Ethics

The ID movement begins

This is later characterised by the DI's Witt as "There Kenyon described a science open to intelligent causes but one free of religious presuppositions or assertions about the identity of the designer. He described how he did origins science, how a science open to intelligent causes ought to be done." Witt claims that this is a different creation science from Young Earth Creationism (YEC). [16]

Edwards v. Aguillard ruling, Pandas

Science is devoted to formulating and testing naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena. It is a process for systematically collecting and recording data about the physical world, then categorizing and studying the collected data in an effort to infer the principles of nature that best explain the observed phenomena. Science is not equipped to evaluate supernatural explanations for our observations; without passing judgment on the truth or falsity of supernatural explanations, science leaves their consideration to the domain of religious faith. Because the scope of scientific inquiry is consciously limited to the search for naturalistic principles, science remains free of religious dogma and is thus an appropriate subject for public-school instruction. [20]

Creation becomes intelligent design

Johnson vs. evolution

Of Pandas and People published

Campaign to get intelligent design into schools

Discovery Institute founded, Johnson's views

Johnson's first book, Darwin on Trial

Pandas revised, DI meets ID

Theistic realism, DI takes up ID and founds CRSC

The wedge strategy

Teach the controversy

Kitzmiller lawsuit

After the Kitzmiller lawsuit

See also

Notes

  1. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ,04cv2688(December 20, 2005). p. 19
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Understanding the Intelligent Design Creationist Movement: Its True Nature and Goals. (pdf) A Position Paper from the Center for Inquiry, Office of Public Policy Barbara Forrest. May, 2007.
  3. TalkOrigins Archive: Post of the Month: March 2006, The History of Creationism by Lenny Flank.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lenny Flank. "Creationism/ID, A Short Legal History". Talk Reason: arguments against creationism, intelligent design, and religious apologetics. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  5. 1 2 3 4 McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education , 529F. Supp.1255 (1982)., Decision January 5, 1982.
  6. Moore, Decker & Cotner 2009, p. 256.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Edwards v. Aguillard , 482U.S.578 (1987)..
  8. "Hendren v. Campbell: Decision Against a Creationist Textbook" . Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Thomas, John A. (July–August 1990). "Thomas, The Foundation for Thought and Ethics". NCSE Reports. 10 (4): 18–9.
  10. 1 2 Scott, Eugenie C.; Matzke, Nicholas J. (May 15, 2007). "Biological design in science classrooms". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 104 (Suppl 1): 8669–8676. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.8669S. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0701505104 . PMC   1876445 . PMID   17494747.
  11. 1 2 Attie, Alan D.; Elliott Sober; Ronald L. Numbers; Richard M. Amasino; Beth Cox; Terese Berceau; Thomas Powell; Michael M. Cox (2006). "Defending science education against intelligent design: a call to action". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 116 (5): 1134–8. doi: 10.1172/JCI28449 . PMC   1451210 . PMID   16670753.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kitzmiller v. Dover: Day 6, AM: Barbara Forrest (continued)" . Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 4 DarkSyde (March 11, 2006). "Know Your Creationists: Know Your Allies". Daily Kos. interview with Barbara Forrest.
  14. William J. Bennetta (1988). "The Rise and Fall of the Louisiana Creationism Law". NCSE, reprint of July/August issue of Terra, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  15. Edwards v. Aguillard: Affidavit of Creationist Dean Kenyon,
  16. 1 2 Witt, Jonathan (December 20, 2005). "Dover Judge Regurgitates Mythological History of Intelligent Design". Evolution News. Discovery Institute. Archived from the original on January 1, 2006.
  17. Eugenie C. Scott (1989). "New Creationist Book On the Way". NCSE Resource. NCSE. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  18. 1 2 "Darwinian Struggle: Instead of Evolution, A Textbook Proposes 'Intelligent Design' — Who Did the Designing, It Doesn't Say". Wall Street Journal. 14 November 1994.
  19. "Buell (1987): Marketing letter from FTE to prospective publishers". NCSE Resource. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  20. "Edwards v. Aguillard: Amicus Curiae Brief of 72 Nobel Laureates" . Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Design on Trial in Dover, Pennsylvania by Nicholas J Matzke, NCSE Public Information Project Specialist
  22. Christopher Carlisle, M.D.; Smith, W.T. (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Intelligent Design. Penguin. p. 119. ISBN   978-1-4406-2604-3 . Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  23. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District ,04cv2688(December 20, 2005)., 1. An Objective Observer Would Know that ID and Teaching About "Gaps" and "Problems" in Evolutionary Theory are Creationist, Religious Strategies that Evolved from Earlier Forms of Creationism "(2) cognates of the word creation (creationism and creationist), which appeared approximately 150 times were deliberately and systematically replaced with the phrase ID; and (3) the changes occurred shortly after the Supreme Court held that creation science is religious and cannot be taught in public school science classes"
  24. Nick Matzke (2006). "NCSE Resource — 9.0. Matzke (2006): The Story of the Pandas Drafts". National Center for Science Education. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
    * Nick Matzke (2006). "Evolution Education and the Law — Blog Archive — Missing Link discovered!". National Center for Science Education. Archived from the original on 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
    * Barbara Forrest (2006). "NCSE Resource -- My Role in Kitzmiller v Dover". National Center for Science Education . Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  25. 1 2 3 Yerxa, Donald A. (March 2002). "Phillip Johnson and the origins of the intelligent design movement, 1977–1991" (PDF). Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith . American Scientific Affiliation. 55 (1): 47–52.
  26. 1 2 3 "Kitzmiller v. Dover: Day 6, PM: Barbara Forrest" . Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  27. Jeff Myers (1 June 2016). Understanding the Faith: A Survey of Christian Apologetics. David C Cook. p. 532. ISBN   978-1-4347-0969-1.
  28. Charles B. Thaxton (May 1991) [First published June 23–26, 1988, revised July 1988 and May 1991]. "In Pursuit of Intelligent Causes: Some Historical Background" . Retrieved 2007-10-06.
  29. 1 2 William Safire (August 21, 2005). "On Language: Neo-Creo". New York Times.
  30. Stafford, Tim (8 December 1997). "The Making of a Revolution". ChristianityToday.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 1998. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  31. Nelson, Paul A. (2002). "Life In The Big Tent: Traditional Creationism and the Intelligent Design Community". Christian Research Journal. Archived from the original on June 22, 2004. Retrieved 15 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  32. Nelson, Paul A. "Intelligent Design: From nucleus - winter 2005 pp. 13-21]". Christian Medical Fellowship - cmf.org.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  33. Witham 2005, pp.  220–221.
  34. 1 2 "Position paper on Darwinism" Archived 2007-06-12 at the Wayback Machine , Johnson, Phillip, November 30, 1989
  35. Witham 2005, p.  221.
  36. 1 2 3 Berkeley's Radical Touchstone magazine interviews Johnson, November 2000.
  37. 1 2 A New Tactic for Getting "Creation Science" Into Classrooms? by Molleen Matsumura, NCSE Network Project Director, 1999
  38. "New Creationist Book On the Way". NCSE. Retrieved 9 May 2019. anticipated date July–August, Amazon suggests 1 August – "Science Textbook Adoptions in Alabama: Part I" below says failed to supply by 10 July, Genie Scott had copy by mid September.
  39. 1 2 3 Nick Matzke (2004). "NCSE Resource". Introduction: Of Pandas and People, the foundational work of the 'Intelligent Design' movement. NCSE . Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  40. 1 2 The Panda's Thumb: I guess ID really was "Creationism's Trojan Horse" after all Archived 2008-06-24 at the Wayback Machine , links to Wayback Machine for pdf.
  41. "Science Textbook Adoptions in Alabama: Part I - NCSE" . Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  42. Religious propaganda in public schools: 'Of Pandas and People': articles from March–April 1990, May–June 1992 and July–August 1994 from The Textbook League
  43. 1 2 Introduction to NCSE Bookwatch Reviews for Of Pandas and People by Eugenie C. Scott and Gordon E. Uno (1989)
  44. 1 2 3 Brande, Scott (Jan – Feb 1990): Science Text Adoptions in Alabama: Part II NCSE Resource
  45. Witham 2005, p.  67.
  46. Schadewald, Robert J. (January–February 1991). "Selling Pandas". NCSE Reports. 11 (1): 10–11.
  47. 1 2 Jodi Wilgoren (August 21, 2005). "Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive". New York Times.
  48. 1 2 3 4 Discovery's Creation An overview of the origin of the intelligent design movement, By Roger Downey, Seattle Weekly, February 1, 2006.
  49. 1 2 3 Scott, Eugenie C. (June 24, 1996). "Creationism, Ideology, and Science: The Flight From Reason". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences . 775. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1996.tb23167.x. S2CID   84085243.
  50. Johnson, Phillip E. "Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism. Johnson, Phillip". Access Research Network. Retrieved 9 May 2019. originally published in First Things, October 1990
  51. Provine, William B.; Kristol, Irving; Jukes, Thomas H.; Berke, Matthew. "Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism-Responses by Critics to Phillip Johnson". Access Research Network. Retrieved 9 May 2019. originally published in First Things, November 1990
  52. Johnson, Phillip E. "Evolution as Dogma: The Establishment of Naturalism-A Reply to my Critics". Access Research Network. Retrieved 9 May 2019. originally published in First Things, November 1990
  53. Johnson, Phillip (June 3, 1991). Darwin on trial . Washington, D.C. Lanham, MD: Regnery Gateway Distributed to the trade by National Book Network. ISBN   0-89526-535-4. OCLC   22906277.
  54. 1 2 IVP – Darwin on Trial Publisher (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA) gives publication date of 1st edn. as 1992, 2nd edn. as December 1993
  55. "Stephen Jay Gould "Impeaching a Self-Appointed Judge" 1992" . Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  56. Stefaan Blancke; Hans Henrik Hjermitslev; Peter C. Kjærgaard (27 November 2014). Creationism in Europe. JHU Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN   978-1-4214-1563-5. (foreword by Ronald Numbers)
  57. Phillip E. Johnson (5 October 2010). Darwin on Trial. InterVarsity Press. p. 238. ISBN   978-0-8308-3831-8.
  58. 1 2 Phillip E. Johnson (1999). "The Wedge: Phillip Johnson". Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  59. 1 2 Hartwig, Mark (1995). "Challenging Darwin's Myth". ARN. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  60. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barbara Forrest, The Wedge at Work. Talk Reason, Chapter 1 of the book "Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics" (MIT Press, 2001), Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  61. Scott, Eugenie C. (March–April 1992). "Televangelist Promotes Of Pandas and People". NCSE Reports. 12 (2): 19.
  62. Stephen Jay Gould (1992). "Impeaching a Self-Appointed Judge". Scientific American.
  63. Creator or Blind Watchmaker? Phillip E. Johnson Reprinted from First Things, January 1993
  64. 1 2 Michelangelo D'Agostino (Spring 2006). "In the matter of Berkeley v. Berkeley" (PDF). Berkeley Science Review. pp. 31–35. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2007. (also "In the matter of Berkeley v. Berkeley". The Berkeley Science Review: Read: Articles. 1 September 2006. Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2023.)
  65. The Birth of Intelligent Design "Theory"
  66. The New Pandas: Has Creationist Scholarship Improved? Comments on 1993 Revisions by Frank J. Sonleitner (1994)
  67. Panda Poop by William J. Bennetta, from The Textbook Letter, July–August 1994.
  68. Stephen C. Meyer (December 6, 1993). "Open Debate on Life's Origins: Meyer, Stephen C." Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  69. Forrest, Barbara (July–August 1997). "Combating Creationism in a Louisiana School System". The Textbook Letter.
  70. Matsumura, Molleen (January–February 1995). "Texas: No Pandas for Plano". NCSE Reports. 15 (1): 7.
  71. 1 2 Analysis of the Melvindale Science Curriculum Sub-Committee Book Recommendations October 30, 1998
  72. "Biology Textbook, Panda-monium; More from Pandas". ASA Newsletter. 37 (2). March–April 1995. (excerpts text)
  73. Numbers, Ronald. "Creationism History: Intelligent Design". Counterbalance Meta-Library. Counterbalance Foundation. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  74. Downey, Roger (February 1, 2006). "Discovery's Creation". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  75. 1 2 Kenneth R. Miller (1996). "KR Miller's Review of "Darwin's Black Box"". Creation/Evolution. 16: 36–40. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  76. "Center for Renewal of Science and Culture". Discovery Institute Press Release. August 10, 1996. Archived from the original on 1996-11-03. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  77. "Kansas Evolution Hearings: Jonathan Wells, Bruce Simat, Giuseppe Sermonti, and Ralph Seelke" . Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  78. Barbara Forrest; Glenn Branch (January–February 2005). "AAUP: Wedging Creationism into the Academy". Academe Online. American Association of University Professors. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
  79. Phillip E. Johnson (August 31, 1996). "Starting a Conversation about Evolution: Johnson, Phillip". Access Research Network . Retrieved 2008-10-18. a
  80. How the Evolution Debate Can Be Won Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
  81. AGI GAP Evolution Opponents Hold Congressional Briefing American Geological Institute, May 11, 2000
  82. Interview — Catholic World Report — XXXX 2000
  83. 1 2 Melanie Elsey (March 10, 2004). "Ohio State Science Standards — OHIO". Ohio Roundtable. Archived from the original on April 17, 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  84. "Critical Analysis of Evolution – Grade 10" (PDF). Ohio State Board of Education. March 10, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-16. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  85. The Measure of Design, A Conversation About the Past, Present & Future of Darwinism & Design, Tochstone Magazine, A Journal of Mere Christianity, July/August 2004 issue.
  86. 1 2 3 Ronald L. Ecker (July 2007) [First published August 2006]. "Critical Analysis of Evolution (Or, What Will They Think of Next?)". Ronald Decker. Hodge & Braddock. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  87. Powell's Books — Review-a-Day — The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael J. Behe, reviewed by The New Republic Online by Jerry Coyne, June 14th, 2007
  88. Stephen C. Meyer, Scott Minnich, Jonathan Moneymaker, Paul A. Nelson, and Ralph Seelke (2007). Explore Evolution: The Arguments for and Against Neo-Darwinism. Melbourne VIC: Hill House. ISBN   978-0-947352-47-9. About the Authors {{cite book}}: External link in |quote= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  89. 1 2 Mark Bergin (July 21, 2007). "When the Base Cracks: Teach the Controversy". World Magazine .
  90. William A. Dembski and Jonathan Wells, The Design of Life, Foundation for Thought and Ethics, to appear, fall 2007.
  91. Stephanie Simon (May 2, 2008). "Evolution's Critics Shift Tactics With Schools". Wall Street Journal .
  92. Glenn Branch; Eugenie C. Scott (December 2008). "The Latest Face of Creationism in the Classroom". Scientific American .

Related Research Articles

Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Proponents claim that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." ID is a form of creationism that lacks empirical support and offers no testable or tenable hypotheses, and is therefore not science. The leading proponents of ID are associated with the Discovery Institute, a Christian, politically conservative think tank based in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Center for Science Education</span> Nonprofit supporting the teaching of evolution and climate change.

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of controversies surrounding the teaching of evolution and climate change, and to provide information and resources to schools, parents, and other citizens working to keep those topics in public school science education. Based in Oakland, California, it claims 4,500 members that include scientists, teachers, clergy, and citizens of varied religious and political affiliations. The Center opposes the teaching of religious views in science classes in America's public schools; it does this through initiatives such as Project Steve. The Center has been called the United States' "leading anti-creationist organization". The Center is affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of creationism</span>

The history of creationism relates to the history of thought based on the premise that the natural universe had a beginning, and came into being supernaturally. The term creationism in its broad sense covers a wide range of views and interpretations, and was not in common use before the late 19th century. Throughout recorded history, many people have viewed the universe as a created entity. Many ancient historical accounts from around the world refer to or imply a creation of the earth and universe. Although specific historical understandings of creationism have used varying degrees of empirical, spiritual and/or philosophical investigations, they are all based on the view that the universe was created. The Genesis creation narrative has provided a basic framework for Jewish and Christian epistemological understandings of how the universe came into being – through the divine intervention of the god, Yahweh. Historically, literal interpretations of this narrative were more dominant than allegorical ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Science and Culture</span> Part of the Discovery Institute

The Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC), is part of the Discovery Institute (DI), a conservative Christian think tank in the United States. The CSC lobbies for the inclusion of creationism in the form of intelligent design (ID) in public-school science curricula as an explanation for the origins of life and the universe while trying to cast doubt on the theory of evolution. These positions have been rejected by the scientific community, which identifies intelligent design as pseudoscientific neo-creationism, whereas the theory of evolution is overwhelmingly accepted as a matter of scientific consensus.

The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the pseudoscientific idea of intelligent design (ID), which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." Its chief activities are a campaign to promote public awareness of this concept, the lobbying of policymakers to include its teaching in high school science classes, and legal action, either to defend such teaching or to remove barriers otherwise preventing it. The movement arose out of the creation science movement in the United States, and is driven by a small group of proponents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen C. Meyer</span> American author, educator and advocate of intelligent design creationism

Stephen C. Meyer is an American author and former educator. He is an advocate of the pseudoscience of intelligent design and helped found the Center for Science and Culture (CSC) of the Discovery Institute (DI), which is the main organization behind the intelligent design movement. Before joining the DI, Meyer was a professor at Whitworth College. Meyer is a senior fellow of the DI and director of the CSC.

Theistic science, also referred to as theistic realism, is the pseudoscientific proposal that the central scientific method of requiring testability, known as methodological naturalism, should be replaced by a philosophy of science that allows occasional supernatural explanations which are inherently untestable. Proponents propose supernatural explanations for topics raised by their theology, in particular evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge strategy</span> Creationist political and social action plan

The Wedge Strategy is a creationist political and social action plan authored by the Discovery Institute, the hub of the pseudoscientific intelligent design movement. The strategy was put forth in a Discovery Institute manifesto known as the Wedge Document. Its goal is to change American culture by shaping public policy to reflect politically conservative fundamentalist evangelical Protestant values. The wedge metaphor is attributed to Phillip E. Johnson and depicts a metal wedge splitting a log.

<i>Of Pandas and People</i> Creationist supplementary textbook by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon

Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 school-level supplementary textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, edited by Charles Thaxton and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). The textbook endorses the pseudoscientific concept of intelligent design – the argument that life shows evidence of being designed by an intelligent agent which is not named specifically in the book, although proponents understand that it refers to the Christian God. The overview chapter was written by young Earth creationist Nancy Pearcey. They present various polemical arguments against the scientific theory of evolution. Before publication, early drafts used cognates of "creationist". After the Edwards v. Aguillard Supreme Court ruling that creationism is religion and not science, these were changed to refer to "intelligent design". The second edition published in 1993 included a contribution written by Michael Behe.

The "teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in United States public high school science courses. Scientific organizations point out that the institute claims that there is a scientific controversy where in fact none exists.

An intelligent designer, also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the pseudoscientific hypothetical willed and self-aware entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life. The term "intelligent cause" is also used, implying their teleological supposition of direction and purpose in features of the universe and of living things.

The Kansas evolution hearings were a series of hearings held in Topeka, Kansas, United States from May 5 to 12, 2005 by the Kansas State Board of Education and its State Board Science Hearing Committee to change how evolution and the origin of life would be taught in the state's public high school science classes. The hearings were arranged by the Board of Education with the intent of introducing intelligent design into science classes via the Teach the Controversy method.

<i>Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District</i> 2005 court case in Pennsylvania

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts testing a public school district policy that required the teaching of intelligent design (ID), ultimately found by the court to not be science. In October 2004, the Dover Area School District of York County, Pennsylvania, changed its biology teaching curriculum to require that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to evolution theory, and that Of Pandas and People, a textbook advocating intelligent design, was to be used as a reference book. The prominence of this textbook during the trial was such that the case is sometimes referred to as the Dover Panda Trial, a name which recalls the popular name of the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee, 80 years earlier. The plaintiffs successfully argued that intelligent design is a form of creationism, and that the school board policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judge's decision sparked considerable response from both supporters and critics.

The Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE) was a Christian non-profit organization based in Richardson, Texas, which represented itself as a “Christian think tank”. It published textbooks and articles promoting pseudoscientific creation science and intelligent design, abstinence, and Christian nationalism. In addition, the foundation's officers and editors became some of the leading proponents of intelligent design. The FTE developed close associations with the Discovery Institute, hub of the intelligent design movement and other religious Christian groups. The FTE operated from 1981 to 2016. Foundation for Thought and Ethics Books is now listed as an imprint of Discovery Institute Press. From the outset its aim was to develop a "scientific critique" of evolution, which was published as The Mystery of Life's Origin in 1984, to be followed by "a two-model high school biology textbook".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-creationism</span> Pseudoscientific creationism

Neo-creationism is a pseudoscientific movement which aims to restate creationism in terms more likely to be well received by the public, by policy makers, by educators and by the scientific community. It aims to re-frame the debate over the origins of life in non-religious terms and without appeals to scripture. This comes in response to the 1987 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard that creationism is an inherently religious concept and that advocating it as correct or accurate in public-school curricula violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

"A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism" was a statement issued in 2001 by the Discovery Institute, a Christian, conservative think tank based in Seattle, Washington, U.S., best known for its promotion of the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design. As part of the Discovery Institute's Teach the Controversy campaign, the statement expresses skepticism about the ability of random mutations and natural selection to account for the complexity of life, and encourages careful examination of the evidence for "Darwinism", a term intelligent design proponents use to refer to evolution.

<i>Darwinism, Design and Public Education</i>

Darwinism, Design and Public Education is a 2003 anthology, consisting largely of rewritten versions of essays from a 1998 issue of Michigan State University Press's journal, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, edited by intelligent design activists John Angus Campbell and Stephen C. Meyer, neither of whom are scientists. The book is promoted as being a "peer-reviewed science book", however in reviewing it Barbara Forrest notes that:

Nineteen of the twenty-seven essays are by ID creationists and their supporters, not one of whom is a working evolutionary biologist. Among the eight pro-evolution essays, only four are by scientists. Of those, only two are by evolutionary biologists. There is a preponderance of humanities scholars; some, like rhetorician John Angus Campbell, are ID proponents while others are pro-evolution.

<i>Explore Evolution</i>

Explore Evolution: The Arguments For and Against Neo-Darwinism is a controversial biology textbook written by a group of intelligent design supporters and published in 2007. Its promoters describe it as aimed at helping educators and students to discuss "the controversial aspects of evolutionary theory that are discussed openly in scientific books and journals but which are not widely reported in textbooks." As one of the Discovery Institute intelligent design campaigns to "teach the controversy" its evident purpose is to provide a "lawsuit-proof" way of attacking evolution and promoting pseudoscientific creationism without being explicit.

The relationship between intelligent design and science has been a contentious one. Intelligent design (ID) is presented by its proponents as science and claims to offer an alternative to evolution. The Discovery Institute, a politically conservative think tank and the leading proponent of intelligent design, launched a campaign entitled "Teach the Controversy", which claims that a controversy exists within the scientific community over evolution. The scientific community rejects intelligent design as a form of creationism, and the basic facts of evolution are not a matter of controversy in science.

References