Evolution Now Under Siege in Schools

by Karine Cunqueiro

At a high school in Topeka, teachers vowed to continue teaching science as before, with the support of their superintendent. But in another Kansas school outside Wichita, the principal approved the decision and hoped it would lead to elements of creationism -- or at least skepticism toward the theory of evolution.

While last month's decision by the Kansas Board of Education does not ban evolution in the classroom, it will not be included in tests taken by students, which may discourage teachers from spending time on the subject.

More than a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that creationism cannot be taught in public schools, its proponents are increasingly active. But instead of trying to push creationism into the schools, many are trying to push out the work of Charles Darwin or ensure that, if evolution is taught, it is presented as merely one, unproven theory.

Kansas is the latest state to face a clash between evolution and creationism that has rocked U.S. schools in recent years. Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico and Nebraska have all made changes that challenge the preeminence of evolution in the scientific curriculum.

Other states, such as Washington, New Hampshire, and Tennessee, have considered but ultimately defeated similar bills. At the local level, dozens of school boards are trying to implement similar measures.

"What happens in community after community is that only a small percentage of voters vote for school board candidates," said Gerald Skoog, former president of the National Science Teachers Association. "With fewer than 15 percent (of registered voters) voting in school board races, a small, well-organized minority can take over pretty quickly."

The Kansas decision also is likely to encourage local school boards seeking to play down or remove evolution from the curriculum, force teachers to acknowledge questions about its accuracy, and introduce creationist ideas.

Creationists hold to a literal interpretation of the Biblical story of Genesis -- that God created the world in a single act approximately 6,000 years ago -- and that humans and other species exist today much as they did back then.

Earlier this year, school boards in four Georgia counties voted to insert a disclaimer in science textbooks that called evolution "a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things."

The disclaimer adds, "No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered as theory, not fact."

The board borrowed the language from the Alabama state school board, which last fall approved a similar insert for every high school biology textbook.

"I think (the curriculum) ought to be maintained so that (students) are aware there are two basic theories of the origin of life," said Steven Abrams, a Kansas Board of Education member. "To teach one of them as law...goes too far. Both require faith to believe in."

Evolutionists argue that defining creationism and evolution as equally credible theories is misleading. A 1996 federal report that found that only 32 percent of Americans understood that in science, a "theory" is defined as a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the world that has predictive powers and incorporates facts, laws, and tested hypotheses.

Evolution advocates argue that creationists are exploiting the average American's unfamiliarity with scientific jargon. In their view, public ignorance about science is creationist bliss.

"Colloquially, the word 'theory' has come to mean 'guess,' and well aware of this misconception, creationists demand that their 'guess' regarding origins be given 'equal time' in any classroom that mentions evolutionary theory -- ostensibly in the spirit of fair play and democracy," said Robert Young of the National Center for Science Education.

"Such reasoning ignores that you don't teach ideas which don't have scientific grounding out of sense of fairness.

"Yes, (evolution) is 'only a theory,' but so is gravitation. So is the chromosome theory of inheritance," adds Young. "Evolution is as widely accepted a theory in science as any of these. The only reason that anybody challenges it, and not the others, is because evolution conflicts with some people's religious views."

The Kansas decision calls for the removal of any mention of the "big bang" theory, which holds that the universe was born of a colossal explosion.

The move came on the heels of Marshall County, Kentucky superintendent Kenneth Shadowen's decision earlier this year to confiscate students' science textbooks and glue together the two pages that dealt with the big bang theory.

The move would make Kansas the first state to officially adopt creationist texts for its public schools; other states have only gone so far as to add anti-evolution books to their libraries and refer students who question evolution to them, as some Michigan districts voted to do last year.

Creationists are currently trying to get "Pandas," first published by Haughton Publishing in 1989, adopted as a state textbook in Alabama, Texas and Idaho, and numerous school boards in California and Ohio are seeking its local adoption.

The text purports to offer evidence for "intelligent design," the idea that life is so complex and remarkable that it could not have developed without an intelligent, purposeful guiding hand.

"Pandas" states in part: "When we find 'John loves Mary' written in the sand, we assume it resulted from an intelligent cause. When we find a complex message coded into a cell, it is reasonable to draw the same conclusion.

"Saying that DNA and protein arose by natural causes, as evolution does, is akin to saying 'John loves Mary' arose from the action of the waves, or from the interaction of grains of sand. It is like saying that the painting of a sunset arose spontaneously from the atoms in the paint and canvas."

Creationists argue that since the identity of the "designer" is never specifically discussed in "Pandas," the text is not arguing for the existence of God or promoting a religious view.

"Students are being denied the opportunity to look at all the information, and critically question a topic," said Paul Goodman of the anti-evolution Institute for Creation Research. "We're not indoctrinating children by presenting them with both pro- and anti-evolution readings, we're teaching them to think for themselves."

Evolutionists have fought public school adoption of "Pandas" and intelligent design ideas, which they see as the intellectual Trojan horses of creationism.

"While 'Pandas' claims to be a science textbook, it's really a political tool," said Gerald Skoog. "The claim that life is a result of intelligent design can't be tested by scientific means and it has no power to explain the world. That's not science."