Controversy About Creationism

Creationism has always been a hot topic because it's the belief that a higher power or deity created the universe versus scientific facts and evidence. Creationists can range in their beliefs but some go from one extreme to the next. For example, some creationists believe in a flat, young earth while some believe in old earth. Generally most Creationists do not believe in evolution and or any scientific reasons for why life exists today.

The debate between Creationists and scientists has been ongoing since Charles Darwin published his Theory of Evolution back in 1859. The people who strictly follow the Bible reject Darwin's Theory of Evolution because they claim the Book of Genesis is a historical depiction about creation, however no scientific facts are supported.

In a survey conducted by People for the American Way, the overall consensus was 83% of people want evolution taught in public schools. In addition, many support in-school discussion about religious explanation, however they do not want these religious explanations taught as "science." Most importantly, the survey shows that there is no clear choice between Creationism and Evolution. Twenty-percent of people agree that schools should just teach evolution while sixteen percent think schools should strictly teach Creationism.

So with the lack of science and "proof" behind Creationism why teach it in schools? More people today are objecting to just evolution being taught in public schools. Creationists claim that their scientific model can be more complex than the one describing evolution. However, main issue with Creationism is that it runs into the issue of religion in a public school. Creationists say this can be avoided if they (the school instructors) just discuss the science behind it and not mention the bible. Also, lack of funding in most schools is keeping Creationism out. There is hope for Creationism to be taught in the future though. Fourteen states will spend close to $1 billion dollars in 2014 on vouchers for private and religious schools to teach their students to go against the teachings of not only evolution but cosmology, biology, geology and math.

In the end, although Charles Darwin started it all with his Theory of Evolution, it seems like the debate has only just begun. With more public schools going against the teaching of evolution and states beginning to spend money to teach against it, there is a chance Creationism could indeed be taught in schools. One thing is for certain, if Creationism is taught in schools, religion must be kept out of it. Students can and should be able to make up their own minds about which belief they agree with.