Whether to allow creationism to be taught in pre-collegiate classrooms alongside evolution has been a hotly contested topic for a long time.
Many religious individuals feel the scientific notion of evolution contradicts their religion's entire idea of how Earth and all of its inhabitants came into existence. They argue creationism should be taught alongside evolution so schoolchildren can be equally exposed to both concepts and eventually choose whichever one fits best with their views and beliefs.
However, creationism is not science and is based on the belief of an entity or entities that exist outside the spectrum of science. In contrast, evolution is a major scientific theory, through which many other biological hypotheses are connected. As such, creationism should be left out of the biology curriculum, and evolution should be included.
Though public schools are mandated by the federal government to maintain religious neutrality, and thus avoid teaching creationism in a scientific classroom, a number of state boards of education have decided to drop the idea of evolution from biology class curriculums in recent years.
As the state boards of education saw it, if creationism cannot be taught, then neither should evolution. Several science teacher associations protested such acta, and a few states were persuaded to revaluate their decisions and allow evolution back into the classroom.
However, several other states resisted, keeping evolutionary concepts to a minimum in the classroom or not teaching them at all. Fortunately, states have slowly been changing their minds about teaching evolution in the classroom.
Just last week the Florida state board of education voted and narrowly decided to allow not only evolution to finally be taught in the classroom but also to use the concept to explain biological trends and ideas. This is a huge step in the right direction.
Scientific hypotheses, in traditional terms, can either be supported or refuted by facts or experiments.
Therefore, science classes should only cover material that can be supported or proven incorrect by scientific evidence.
Creationism, however, cannot be maintained nor disproved by any naturally occurring event or via research and experimentation. To believe in creationism is a matter of faith, not a matter of science. Teaching this subject along with evolution would send the wrong message to students by confusing them. It would blur the limits of science, and the logic and rational thought that accompanies it.
Many argue if creationism cannot be taught in the science classroom, neither should evolution. Yet numerous theories of biology make little sense without the frameowrk of evolution. It is a major theme that ties together much of what has been discovered in the past few decades. To exclude evolution in the study of biology would be a huge detriment to the students learning the subject.
Students would not be adequately exposed to enough of the modern ideas of biology and would be disadvantaged if they decided to move on to tackle a higher education in the subject. Also, these students would not be able to truly make an unbiased decision as to whether they believed in evolution or in creationism, because they would not have had enough exposure to the concepts to base their beliefs in fact.
The fight between creationists and evolutionists can be traced back to the famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, in which a Tennessee teacher deliberately ignored a state statute and taught the concept of evolution to his students.
Since then, there has been nearly constant conflict raging between those who support evolution and those who believe in creationism.
What many fail to remember is a belief in evolution does not necessarily equate to a disbelief in God (or gods).
Creationism, however, has nothing to do with logic, reason or rationality; rather it relies only on a person's faith, and as such, has no place in a classroom that deals with science.
Scientific theories can be proven false, including the theory of evolution (given enough evidence).
Matters of faith cannot be proven false by any means available to us, nor is there much evidence that supports these kinds of concepts. On the other hand, evolution ties together many major biological themes, which creates a compelling argument for the theory.
Therefore, evolution should be taught in public schools, without the concept of creationism.
Ryan Dashek is a sophomore majoring in biology. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
