Evolution Less Accepted In U.s. Than Other Western Countries

[Reverend AtheiStar]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...-evolution.html

 

Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

James Owen

for National Geographic News

 

August 10, 2006

People in the United States are much less likely to accept Darwin's idea that humans evolved from apes than adults in other Western nations, a number of surveys show.

 

A new study of those surveys suggests that the main reason for this lies in a unique confluence of religion, politics, and the public understanding of biological science in the United States.

 

Researchers compared the results of past surveys of attitudes toward evolution taken in the U.S. since 1985 and similar surveys in Japan and 32 European countries.

 

In the U.S., only 14 percent of adults thought that evolution was "definitely true," while about a third firmly rejected the idea.

 

In European countries, including Denmark, Sweden, and France, more than 80 percent of adults surveyed said they accepted the concept of evolution.

 

The proportion of western European adults who believed the theory "absolutely false" ranged from 7 percent in Great Britain to 15 percent in the Netherlands.

 

The only country included in the study where adults were more likely than Americans to reject evolution was Turkey.

 

The investigation also showed that the percentage of U.S. adults who are uncertain about evolution has risen from 7 percent to 21 percent in the past 20 years.

 

Researchers from the U.S. and Japan analyzed additional information from these surveys in an attempt to identify factors that might help explain why Americans are more skeptical about evolution.

 

Led by Jon D. Miller, a political scientist at Michigan State University, the team reports its findings in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science.

 

American Culture and Evolution

 

The team ran a complex analysis of the statistics, testing for a causal link between aspects of U.S. culture and Americans' attitudes toward evolution.

 

The study identified three key influences on Americans.

 

First, the researchers found that the effect of fundamentalist religious belief on opinions of evolution was almost twice as much in the U.S. as in Europe.

 

Miller says the U.S. has a tradition of Protestant fundamentalism not found in Europe that takes the Bible literally and sees the Book of Genesis as an accurate account of the creation of human life.

 

After European Protestants broke off from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century, they retained a hierarchy that remained part of the university system, Miller says.

 

"In the United States, partly because of our frontier history, most of the Protestant churches are congregational—they don't belong to any hierarchy," he added.

 

"They're free to choose their own ministers and espouse their own beliefs."

 

That freedom also included the creation of their own Bible colleges for training ministers, Miller says.

 

"If you send them to a Bible college that teaches only the Bible, they'll come back preaching only the Bible," he added.

 

"There are very few European counterparts to that."

 

(Read a National Geographic magazine feature on the evolution of evolution theory in the United States, "Was Darwin Wrong?")

 

European Attitudes

 

Second, the researchers tested whether an American's political views influenced his or her view of evolution theory.

 

The team found that individuals with anti-abortion, pro-life views associated with the conservative wing of the Republican Party were significantly more likely to reject evolution than people with pro-choice views.

 

The team adds that in Europe having pro-life or right-wing political views had little correlation with a person's attitude toward evolution.

 

The researchers say this reflects the politicization of the evolution issue in the U.S. "in a manner never seen in Europe or Japan."

 

"In the second half of the 20th century, the conservative wing of the Republican Party has adopted creationism as part of a platform designed to consolidate their support in Southern and Midwestern states," the study authors write.

 

Miller says that when Ronald Reagan was running for President of the U.S., for example, he gave speeches in these states where he would slip in the sentence, "I have no chimpanzees in my family," poking fun at the idea that apes could be the ancestors of humans.

 

When such a view comes from the U.S. President or other prominent political figures, Miller says, it "lends a degree of legitimacy to the dispute."

 

A Natural Selection?

 

Third, the study found that adults with some understanding of genetics are more likely to have a positive attitude toward evolution.

 

But, the authors say, studies in the U.S. suggest substantial numbers of American adults are confused about some core ideas related to 20th- and 21st-century biology.

 

The researchers cite a 2005 study finding that 78 percent of adults agreed that plants and animals had evolved from other organisms. In the same study, 62 percent also believed that God created humans without any evolutionary development.

 

Fewer than half of American adults can provide a minimal definition of DNA, the authors add.

[jauggy]

None of this actually surprises me.

[Vigile]

In the U.S., only 14 percent of adults thought that evolution was "definitely true," while about a third firmly rejected the idea.

 

In European countries, including Denmark, Sweden, and France, more than 80 percent of adults surveyed said they accepted the concept of evolution.

 

In other words, the US is already a moronic de facto theocracy. I like you guys on this site, but I have to say, in general I don't like American culture anymore and this study highlights one of the major reasons why.

[Vigile]

The researchers say this reflects the politicization of the evolution issue in the U.S. "in a manner never seen in Europe or Japan."

 

I would dispute this finding. I think they are mixing cause and effect. I would argue that evolution is not taught well in the US, therefore it has left an opening for the political animals to exploit. This in turn, has given leverage to those who wish to supress as they try to rid schools of this science alltogether.

[BTDT]

In other words, the US is already a moronic de facto theocracy. I like you guys on this site, but I have to say, in general I don't like American culture anymore and this study highlights one of the major reasons why.

 

I'm American, and I agree. I haven't felt proud of our culture for a long time.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

None of this actually surprises me.

 

No surprise here, either. I deal with anti-evolution fundies all the time. It's like hearing a forecast for rain while you're standing in it.

 

In the U.S., only 14 percent of adults thought that evolution was "definitely true," while about a third firmly rejected the idea.

 

In European countries, including Denmark, Sweden, and France, more than 80 percent of adults surveyed said they accepted the concept of evolution.

 

In other words, the US is already a moronic de facto theocracy. I like you guys on this site, but I have to say, in general I don't like American culture anymore and this study highlights one of the major reasons why.

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

 

The researchers say this reflects the politicization of the evolution issue in the U.S. "in a manner never seen in Europe or Japan."

 

I would dispute this finding. I think they are mixing cause and effect. I would argue that evolution is not taught well in the US, therefore it has left an opening for the political animals to exploit. This in turn, has given leverage to those who wish to supress as they try to rid schools of this science alltogether.

 

Regardless of its catalyst, they're still right. The fundies here have anti-evolution tactics down to, well, a science. Have you read the Dover decision? Have you seen how, with every new challenge, creationsim has evolved to fit its environment?

 

http://www.reverendatheistar.com/the_dover_smackdown.htm

[MeiPassion]

None of this actually surprises me.

 

 

Doesn't surprise me, either. And global warming is the same, it hasn't been accepted all that much here in the US but other countries have.

[freeday]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

[Vigile]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

 

The global warming issue above is a great example. If the situation is not addressed, the consequences can be disasterous. Fundies generally don't care about earth stewardship because they believe that this earth will be destroyed in the end anyway.

 

Evolution is another reason. Fundies fight teaching it and society pays a heavy price of ignorance.

 

That said, fundementalism, despite what a lot of people here might think, is not the greatest threat to life as we know it; it's more just an irritation.

[LadyFeline]

Scientific facts are brushed off in a Fundamentalist wanna-be theocracy that prizes ignorance, violence, and intolerance over intelligence, acceptance, and peace?

 

Well there's a big, fat fucking DUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH....

[freeday]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

 

The global warming issue above is a great example. If the situation is not addressed, the consequences can be disasterous. Fundies generally don't care about earth stewardship because they believe that this earth will be destroyed in the end anyway.

 

Evolution is another reason. Fundies fight teaching it and society pays a heavy price of ignorance.

 

That said, fundementalism, despite what a lot of people here might think, is not the greatest threat to life as we know it; it's more just an irritation.

 

you are right, i feel that us in the US (concerning the Gov) is lacking horribly as far as the enviroment goes. i saw a discovery channel special on global warming and it said that the US did not participate in the treaties that tried to lower polution. why wouldn't we? but i will have to admitt that i do not do my part to help the enviroment. i cut the cats off my car to save precious horsepower.

 

glad i could irritate you

[Reverend AtheiStar]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

 

Oh, gee, hmmm, shall I list the ways?

 

Fundies are (generally):

 

1) against almost all science, especially one of the most fundamental truths is science, evolution.

2) against same sex marriage, homosexual rights of any kind including, in some cases, the right for them to be alive.

3) supportive of changing our country from constitutional republic to a theocracy.

4) anti-abortion, but love to kill everyone else in wars for the Lord.

5) (many times violently) against my kind, the Atheists, specifically, (even though they disbelieve in almost as many deities) and would love to have us deported or demoted from citizenship as Bush sr. put it.

 

They are a cancer and it would do us good, as a species, to be rid of them.

 

That said, fundementalism, despite what a lot of people here might think, is not the greatest threat to life as we know it; it's more just an irritation.

 

Ah, but what of Dumbya, the "born again," with his conversations with his imaginary friend telling him to go to war? This man has his finger on the button? An irritation, I think not.

[MeiPassion]

I wouldn't say it's just an irratation, either. I mean these fundies are trying to make social change. Not only are they against atheists, they're pretty much against people who aren't Christian. The thing about Creationism is that it only wants to the possibility of the Christian god.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

I wouldn't say it's just an irratation, either. I mean these fundies are trying to make social change. Not only are they against atheists, they're pretty much against people who aren't Christian. The thing about Creationism is that it only wants to the possibility of the Christian god.

 

It's an irritation like a bullet hole in your leg is an irritation. If you don't pay attention, it just might kill you!

[LadyFeline]

It's an irritation like a bullet hole in your leg is an irritation. If you don't pay attention, it just might kill you!

I'd say it's more an irritation like some maniac holding a loaded gun to your head is an irritation. Unless you change the balance of power, it likely will kill you.

[freeday]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

 

Oh, gee, hmmm, shall I list the ways?

 

Fundies are (generally):

 

1) against almost all science, especially one of the most fundamental truths is science, evolution.

2) against same sex marriage, homosexual rights of any kind including, in some cases, the right for them to be alive.

3) supportive of changing our country from constitutional republic to a theocracy.

4) anti-abortion, but love to kill everyone else in wars for the Lord.

5) (many times violently) against my kind, the Atheists, specifically, (even though they disbelieve in almost as many deities) and would love to have us deported or demoted from citizenship as Bush sr. put it.

 

They are a cancer and it would do us good, as a species, to be rid of them.

 

That said, fundementalism, despite what a lot of people here might think, is not the greatest threat to life as we know it; it's more just an irritation.

 

Ah, but what of Dumbya, the "born again," with his conversations with his imaginary friend telling him to go to war? This man has his finger on the button? An irritation, I think not.

 

1.) how is evolution one of the most fundamental truths of science. i can think of a hundred other things that wiegh much more than evolution. it is not that important. i think since you hold an oppinion oppisite of the fundy's you inflate the situation. i can name several cristians that could care less if scientist are studing evolution. does it matter if they hold an opinion that it is not important. of course not. how does that stop scientist from discovering stuff.

 

2. this matter is of personall preference. i personally could care less if homosexuals get married. some think otherwise. it is just like racism. it takes a while for it to pass over, but it will eventually. "the rights for them to be alive" now that is a pretty fucked up statement. do you honnestly think that christians would rather a gay be dead. maybe i should change my slogan to "the only good gay is a dead one" come on dude. were not as sick in the head as you think.

 

3. not sure what you are meaning by this, but don't confuse political agenda's with religion. i personally preffer democracy. i want it to stay that way.

 

4. not sure what you mean by this. i personally don't believe in abortion and would never do it. but i think that people should have the right to choose. "wars for the lord" what does this mean. sounds like some conspiracy theory. unless you are reffering to the isreal/hesba conflict that is going on. i don't like war. i think it should be a last ditch effort in maintaining safety.

 

5. you keep mixing state and religion. but from my stand point, i think it is pretty well separated. last i checked, i haven't, nor do i know anyone, or for that matter have even heard of anyone who has acted violently against a person because they were an athiest.

 

i think you are a little paraniod and racist towards christians because of thier beliefs. just because someone thinks differently than you, doesn't mean you should hate them. you calling christians a cancer to society, is the same as me saying that gays are the cause of aids. do you see how offensive what you said is, i find this very close minded.

[Vigile]

Ah, but what of Dumbya, the "born again," with his conversations with his imaginary friend telling him to go to war? This man has his finger on the button? An irritation, I think not.

 

I'm glad you raised the point Rev. Yes, W is representative of a very real threat - probably one of the greatest threats - to life as we know it. I just don't believe that the reason what he represents is a threat due to his christian beliefs. It is the interests he represents that are the danger, those interests are oil and multi national corporations though. Christianity is just a tool he employs to garner support for policies that are not in the best interests of most of his own constituency.

[SkepticOfBible]

i think you are a little paraniod and racist towards christians because of thier beliefs.

 

The word you are looking for it intolerant, not racist. :wink:

[freeday]

i think you are a little paraniod and racist towards christians because of thier beliefs.

 

The word you are looking for it intolerant, not racist. :wink:

 

thank you, maybe it was the wrong use of words there.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

It's an irritation like a bullet hole in your leg is an irritation. If you don't pay attention, it just might kill you!

I'd say it's more an irritation like some maniac holding a loaded gun to your head is an irritation. Unless you change the balance of power, it likely will kill you.

 

Ya, that works, too. Because of concerns about the safety of our family on the highway (an angry Christian tried to run my wife and kids off) we've taken all our stickers off. We've submitted to Christian Terrorism. I suppose it's ok. It's not total submission. We still have our plates and our Darwin fish. Those will stay. Our car is just not so glaringly obvious now.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

i think you are a little paraniod and racist towards christians because of thier beliefs.

 

As it was already pointed out, it's intolerance. But paranoid? No, paranoia is irrational fear. My fears are based in solid facts. But I usually don't feel hatred towards Christians, my parents, relatives and many friends are Christian. It's fundies, the extremists of your religion, that make me angry. A good example of rabid fundies is a Klan member or a Nazi. Both believe in Jesus and his Daddy with a passion and both are willing to take extreme measures to spread the good word and take out the competition. Should I be tolerant of these people? The fundies who want to take over our government and kill all science are about the same. Why should I sit idly by while they destroy, as does cancer, my beloved America?

 

just because someone thinks differently than you, doesn't mean you should hate them.

 

If thinking was all they did different I wouldn't be having this conversation. It goes much deeper than just thinking. It's their actions and what they have historically lead to, see the rise of the Nazi party, that I'm afraid of.

 

you calling christians a cancer to society, is the same as me saying that gays are the cause of aids.

 

That's not what I said. I said fundies, big difference. A fundy is an extremist. Fred Phelps of God Hates Fags is an extremist and another wonderful example of a fundy. Should I be loving, tolerant and open minded about his ideas? I don't think so.

 

do you see how offensive what you said is, i find this very close minded.

 

It's quite easy to get offended and those who are brutally honest about what they feel often step on toes. That's just the prioce I pay for refusing to sugar coat anything. So be it. Honesty is the best policy.

 

I'm really not close minded, though. I'm open to all kinds of things. I think all gods and goddesses are hypothetically possible, yet quite embarassingly improbable. There's just no compelling evdinece for them ever being anything more than imaginary creations from the minds of humans. You want to teach creationism? Which creationism? There are over 10,000 distinct religions in the world. Which mythology should be taught and why? Give me evidence, don't just quote an ancient book.

[Piprus]

 

I'm proud to be an American, its my home, but these people are a cancer on our society. I wouldn't throw out everything that is great about my country because, as a society, we're sick. We need to strive for health, not abandon it.

 

this is an interesting statement. how are fundy's a cancer that is destroying our society. they offer an opinion. that's it. if someone believes in the genisis account, how is that ruining the society?

 

but i will agree that there is a lack of education in evolution.

 

Freeday, if you think fundies are "just offering an opinion" you are terminally naive. For thirty years now, there have been activist xian fundie groups who have stated it as their objective to achieve political power and impose their religious agenda on our laws and social mores. You're saying you've never heard of the "christian coalition" and what they stand for? They've hijacked, at least to an appreciable extent, the Republican party, and labeled themselves "conservative", in order to field their own selected candidates for public office. They are not. They are decidedly fascist, and they march in lockstep with the jacobian neoconservative imperialists. I suggest you check them out for yourselves at places like religioustolerance.org, positiveatheism.org (scary quotations section), religious right watch, and others. Go ahead...you could spend a day reading on the development of this malicious movement. The attempts at dictating the teaching of ID (creationism with a made-up face) alongside scientific evolutionary curriculum is one example, the attempt to tamper with the constitution to impose their idea of what a "marriage" is, is another. Go right ahead and defend your religion as you please, Freeday, but don't defend your fellow believers who have gone to the dark side.

 

"The so-called religious organizations which now lead the war against the teaching of evolution are nothing more, at bottom, than conspiracies of the inferior man against his betters." (H.L. Mencken)

[Reverend AtheiStar]

http://www.reverendatheistar.com/wedge_strategy.htm

 

CENTER FOR THE RENEWAL OF SCIENCE & CULTURE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The proposition that human beings are created in the image of God is one of the bedrock principles on which Western civilization was built. Its influence can be detected in most, if not all, of the West's greatest achievements, including representative democracy. human rights, free enterprise, and progress in the arts and sciences.

 

Yet a little over a century ago, this cardinal idea came under wholesale attack by intellectuals drawing on discoveries of modern science. Debunking the traditional conceptions of both God and man, thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud portrayed humans not as moral and spiritual beings, but as animals or machines who inhabited a universe ruled by purely impersonal forces and whose behavior and very thoughts were dictated by the unbending forces of biology, chemistry, and environment. This materialistic conception of reality eventually infected virtually every area of our culture, from politics and economics to literature and art.

 

The cultural consequences of this triumph of materialism were devastating. Materialists denied the existence of objective moral standards, claiming that environment dictates our behavior and beliefs. Such moral relativism was uncritically adopted by much of the social sciences, and it still undergirds much of modern economics, political science, psychology and sociology.

 

Materialists also undermined personal responsibility by asserting that human thoughts and behaviors are dictated by our biology and environment. The results can be seen in modern approaches to criminal justice, product liability, and welfare. In the materialistic scheme of things, everyone is a victim and no one can be held accountable for his or her actions.

 

Finally, materialism spawned a virulent strain of utopianism. Thinking they could engineer the perfect society through the application of scientific knowledge, materialist reformers advocated coercive government programs that falsely promised to create heaven on earth.

 

Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of materialism and those from the humanities and social sciences, the Center explores how new developments in biology, physics and cognitive science raise serious doubts about scientific materialism have re-opened the case for a broadly theistic understanding of nature. The Center awards fellowship for original research, holds conferences, and briefs policy makers about the opportunities for life after materialism.

 

The center is directed by Discovery Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Meyer. An Associate Professor of Philosophy at Whitworth College, Dr. Meyer holds a Ph.D. in the History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University. He formerly worked as a geophysicist for the Atlantic Richfield Company.

 

THE WEDGE STRATEGY

 

Phase I.

 

Scientific Research, Writing & Publicity

Phase II.

 

Publicity & Opinion-making

Phase III.

 

Cultural Confrontation & Renewal

 

 

THE WEDGE PROJECTS

 

Phase I. Scientific Research, Writing & Publication

 

Individual Research Fellowship Program

Paleontology Research program (Dr. Paul Chien et al.)

Molecular Biology Research Program (Dr. Douglas Axe et al.)

Phase II. Publicity & Opinion-making

 

Book Publicity

Opinion-Maker Conferences

Apologetics Seminars

Teacher Training Program

Op-ed Fellow

PBS (or other TV) Co-production

Publicity Materials / Publications

Phase III. Cultural Confrontation & Renewal

 

Academic and Scientific Challenge Conferences

Potential Legal Action for Teacher Training

Research Fellowship Program: shift to social sciences and humanities

 

FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN SUMMARY

 

The social consequences of materialism have been devastating. As symptoms, those consequences are certainly worth treating. However, we are convinced that in order to defeat materialism, we must cut it off at its source. That source is scientific materialism. This is precisely our strategy. If we view the predominant materialistic science as a giant tree, our strategy is intended to function as a "wedge" that, while relatively small, can split the trunk when applied at its weakest points. The very beginning of this strategy, the "thin edge of the wedge," was Phillip Johnson's critique of Darwinism begun in 1991 in Darwinism on Trial, and continued in Reason in the Balance and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Michael Behe's highly successful Darwin's Black Box followed Johnson's work. We are building on this momentum, broadening the wedge with a positive scientific alternative to materialistic scientific theories, which has come to be called the theory of intelligent design (ID). Design theory promises to reverse the stifling dominance of the materialist worldview, and to replace it with a science consonant with Christian and theistic convictions.

 

The Wedge strategy can be divided into three distinct but interdependent phases, which are roughly but not strictly chronological. We believe that, with adequate support, we can accomplish many of the objectives of Phases I and II in the next five years (1999-2003), and begin Phase III (See "Goals/ Five Year Objectives/Activities").

 

Phase I: Research, Writing and Publication

 

Phase II: Publicity and Opinion-making

 

Phase III: Cultural Confrontation and Renewal

 

Phase I is the essential component of everything that comes afterward. Without solid scholarship, research and argument, the project would be just another attempt to indoctrinate instead of persuade. A lesson we have learned from the history of science is that it is unnecessary to outnumber the opposing establishment. Scientific revolutions are usually staged by an initially small and relatively young group of scientists who are not blinded by the prevailing prejudices and who are able to do creative work at the pressure points, that is, on those critical issues upon which whole systems of thought hinge. So, in Phase I we are supporting vital witting and research at the sites most likely to crack the materialist edifice.

 

Phase II. The primary purpose of Phase II is to prepare the popular reception of our ideas. The best and truest research can languish unread and unused unless it is properly publicized. For this reason we seek to cultivate and convince influential individuals in print and broadcast media, as well as think tank leaders, scientists and academics, congressional staff, talk show hosts, college and seminary presidents and faculty, future talent and potential academic allies. Because of his long tenure in politics, journalism and public policy, Discovery President Bruce Chapman brings to the project rare knowledge and acquaintance of key op-ed writers, journalists, and political leaders. This combination of scientific and scholarly expertise and media and political connections makes the Wedge unique, and also prevents it from being "merely academic." Other activities include production of a PBS documentary on intelligent design and its implications, and popular op-ed publishing. Alongside a focus on influential opinion-makers, we also seek to build up a popular base of support among our natural constituency, namely, Chnstians. We will do this primarily through apologetics seminars. We intend these to encourage and equip believers with new scientific evidence's that support the faith, as well as to "popularize" our ideas in the broader culture.

 

Phase III. Once our research and writing have had time to mature, and the public prepared for the reception of design theory, we will move toward direct confrontation with the advocates of materialist science through challenge conferences in significant academic settings. We will also pursue possible legal assistance in response to resistance to the integration of design theory into public school science curricula. The attention, publicity, and influence of design theory should draw scientific materialists into open debate with design theorists, and we will be ready. With an added emphasis to the social sciences and humanities, we will begin to address the specific social consequences of materialism and the Darwinist theory that supports it in the sciences.

 

GOALS

Governing Goals

 

To defeat scientific materialism and its destructive moral, cultural and political legacies.

To replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and hurnan beings are created by God.

Five Year Goals

 

To see intelligent design theory as an accepted alternative in the sciences and scientific research being done from the perspective of design theory.

To see the beginning of the influence of design theory in spheres other than natural science.

To see major new debates in education, life issues, legal and personal responsibility pushed to the front of the national agenda.

Twenty Year Goals

 

To see intelligent design theory as the dominant perspective in science.

To see design theory application in specific fields, including molecular biology, biochemistry, paleontology, physics and cosmology in the natural sciences, psychology, ethics, politics, theology and philosophy in the humanities; to see its influence in the fine arts.

To see design theory permeate our religious, cultural, moral and political life.

 

FIVE YEAR OBJECTIVES

1. A major public debate between design theorists and Darwinists (by 2003)

 

2. Thirty published books on design and its cultural implications (sex, gender issues, medicine, law, and religion)

 

3. One hundred scientific, academic and technical articles by our fellows

 

4. Significant coverage in national media:

 

Cover story on major news magazine such as Time or Newsweek

PBS show such as Nova treating design theory fairly

Regular press coverage on developments in design theory

Favorable op-ed pieces and columns on the design movement by 3rd party media

5. Spiritual & cultural renewal:

 

Mainline renewal movements begin to appropriate insights from design theory, and to repudiate theologies influenced by materialism

Major Christian denomination(s) defend(s) traditional doctrine of creation & repudiate(s)

Darwinism Seminaries increasingly recognize & repudiate naturalistic presuppositions

Positive uptake in public opinion polls on issues such as sexuality, abortion and belief in God

6. Ten states begin to rectify ideological imbalance in their science curricula & include design theory

 

7. Scientific achievements:

 

An active design movement in Israel, the UK and other influential countries outside the US

Ten CRSC Fellows teaching at major universities

Two universities where design theory has become the dominant view

Design becomes a key concept in the social sciences Legal reform movements base legislative proposals on design theory

 

ACTIVITIES

 

(1) Research Fellowship Program (for writing and publishing)

 

(2) Front line research funding at the "pressure points" (e.g., Daul Chien's Chengjiang Cambrian Fossil Find in paleontology, and Doug Axe's research laboratory in molecular biology)

 

(3) Teacher training

 

(4) Academic Conferences

 

(5) Opinion-maker Events & Conferences

 

(6) Alliance-building, recruitment of future scientists and leaders, and strategic partnerships with think tanks, social advocacy groups, educational organizations and institutions, churches, religious groups, foundations and media outlets

 

(7) Apologetics seminars and public speaking

 

(8) Op-ed and popular writing

 

(9) Documentaries and other media productions

 

(10) Academic debates

 

(11) Fund Raising and Development

 

(12) General Administrative support

[freeday]

reverend:

 

i must have taken you wrong. you keep talking about fundies (which i somewhat identify with). but i think i get your point. anything taken to the extreme can cause problems, whether it be religion or politics. i don't see it evident where i live at or i am ignorant of its going on. but maybe elsewhere in the US it is worse. i am just not aware of it.

 

sorry about the christian road rage incident. this should not be the behavoir of a true christian. i ussually laugh at the darwin stickers. i think the picture with the fish with legs is too funny. i am with you, it is perfectly fine to have opposing beliefs than other people, but when you act negatively towards a person because of thier beliefs, then it becomes a problem.

[Reverend AtheiStar]

reverend:

 

i must have taken you wrong. you keep talking about fundies (which i somewhat identify with). but i think i get your point. anything taken to the extreme can cause problems, whether it be religion or politics. i don't see it evident where i live at or i am ignorant of its going on. but maybe elsewhere in the US it is worse. i am just not aware of it.

 

sorry about the christian road rage incident. this should not be the behavoir of a true christian. i ussually laugh at the darwin stickers. i think the picture with the fish with legs is too funny. i am with you, it is perfectly fine to have opposing beliefs than other people, but when you act negatively towards a person because of thier beliefs, then it becomes a problem.

 

Yes! That is precisely my point. Fine deduction! Atheists, I must admit, are not immune from being extremists, either.

 

Most believers, upon seeing our stickers, would normally just give us a show (raising of hands, shaking of heads, shouting at us even though we couldn't hear them and the parental stare as they went by), but it was the actual terrorist (one who uses terror to achieve a goal) that convinced my wife that that kind of activism (there are plenty of other kinds we engage in) just wasn't worth it -- family first.