Matt Stanley

ENG 2010
TR: 2:30PM

Science vs. Creationism, the relevance and detriments to modern society

One of the most amazing things about Human existence is our non-stop ability to
constantly evolve and improve cognitively and intellectually. As humans we have gone
from cave dwelling people with no formed social languages to highly cognitive and
social beings that have formed themselves into highly complex social civilizations. It
seems to be in our nature to only improve and become more advanced beings without
being stopped. The only thing powerful enough to hinder the evolution of human beings
are humans themselves, by refusing to evolve our minds and ways of life in order to stay
suited with what feels comfortable to us. We are our own worst enemies.
Since the beginning of time, Humanity has always searched to find the answers of
cosmology and Human Origin, and we have always found reasoning within our natural
environment to provide answers to the questions of who we are and where we came from.
In the beginning we worshipped the Sun and Moon as Gods, and created fairy tale like
stories about the powers that energized those elements around us. Every civilization,
ancient and modern, has developed religious and/or supernatural type beliefs of our
existence to better understand those questions of Human Origin. These beliefs also
became key components to maintaining social norms and customs, as well as maintaining
social hierarchies and enforcing governments. Each generation of religious or
creationary beliefs have faded out eventually. We are currently in the process of fading
out such beliefs and religions all together. Thanks to the extreme advancement in human
knowledge and modern technology, we now have something else to answer our

questions, Science. Modern Science is the direct result of Human Evolution and is the
key to understanding our world and universe.
One thing that I believe is hindering evolution is that many of us hold on to our
prior teachings of human existence, those teachings being Creationary beliefs.
Creationism is defined by Merriam-Webster as, The belief that God created all things
out of nothing as described in the Bible and that therefore the theory of evolution is
incorrect. This definition particularly refers to the biblical book of Genesis, which
teaches that the Earth, as well as all living things on Earth, was created in 6 calendar
days. I believe that these stories are outdated and illogical. I believe that teaching
creationism as factual events to young children can diminish their ability to make logical
decisions based off evidence.
Despite humanitys surge in knowledge and understandings in science, most
Americans still reject the idea of evolution in favor of religious or other supernatural type
beliefs, according to a 2010 study by the National Center for Science Education. I
believe that we have come to a point where teaching such ideas of Human Origin are
indeed hindering Human Evolution, as well as being detrimental to modern society. This
can be shown by how adults and college students believe and understand science and
evolution based on what religious or otherwise supernatural beliefs of human origin they
were taught in their earlier years.
A study done by Randy Moore, D. Christopher Brooks, and Sehoya Cotner,
showed that most students entering college were not proficient in their understanding of
evolution, despite the legal requirement that Evolution be taught as part of the curriculum
in High Schools. The same study shows that students who were taught evolution only in

High School had a higher average score that any other group. Students that were taught
both creationism and evolution scored, on average, 27% lower on the test they were given
about evolution. Also, students who defined their religious views as either progressive or
not religious scored an average of 10% higher than those who described their religious
views as conservative. This evidence shows that people who were taught more religious
beliefs are hindered in their understanding of evolution.
Advocates of Creationism being taught in the public education system argue that
we do not have proof to back our current understanding of Human Evolution. According
to this argument, because we cannot prove our whole theory of evolution, it cannot be
taken as literally. It is true, that we cannot prove all aspects of the modern theories of
evolution. As a matter of fact, it is well accepted that there is a lot questions about
Human Evolution that we do not yet have the answers to. This argument abuses the true
purpose and meaning of science. Science doesnt tend to prove things correct. What
science does is draw theories based on evidence that we know and understand. We then
test those theories. What science does do is prove things wrong, by showing what
theories and ideas do not fit in with facts that we do know.
For Instance, after studying isotopes found in elements of rocks from Earth and
The Moon, we understand that the process of the formation of Earth took between 50 and
100 million years. Even after those 50-100 million years of Earths formation, the earth
was not yet inhabitable. Based on this evidential understanding, we can logically rule out
the belief that the Earth and all of its living inhabitants were created in 6 days, or even
6000 years, as it clearly does not fit in what we know about Earth. A Christian would
argue that god and man operate on different time scopes, which according to the bible is

true. The bible teaches that 1 day to god is equal to 1000 human years. Still, 6,000 years
does not come anywhere near the 50-100 Million year time span. Science is meant to be
more about finding the truth by elimination, done by advanced processes of trial and error
experimentation.
I can personally testify to the confusion that this can cause a young person. I was
raised in a very religious family. I was taught as a child the Christian belief of the
Creation of Earth. I learned that god created Earth and all of its living inhabitants in 6
calendar days, and then took a day off on the 7th day. I learned that god created all
creatures that live on dry land, including man, on the 6th day. I remember being confused
after I was in school learning about dinosaurs, and how they have been extinct for tens of
millions of years before humanity inhabited Earth. You can imagine my confusion about
that, as according to the biblical theory of creationism, man would have co-existed with
Dinosaurs. I was so confused that I literally wrote a letter to Gordon B. Hinckley, who
was the present Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, asking him
to further explain my dinosaur dilemma. I received a letter back from one of Hinckleys
assistants, and to my dismay the question was not answered. Instead, I was
recommended to pray about it. Needless to say, the prayer option was even less effective
at putting my confusion to rest.
Im not the only one that has faced confusion from religious beliefs. A study
published by Boston University shows that children who are taught religious beliefs do
indeed have a harder time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. In the study, the
researchers told three separate stories to 66 kindergarten children. Each story had a
different theme. One story was religious, one story was realistic, and one story was

fantastical. After the children understood the story, the researchers questioned the
children on whether or not they believe that the main character was real or not. In the
religious studies, children that were raised with religious beliefs were more likely to view
the main character as non-fictional. Secular children, however, were far more likely to
view the characters of the religion themed stories as fictional characters. This also
applied to the fantasy based stories. The study showed that children without religious
beliefs were more likely to view the Protagonist as a fictional character, whereas religious
children had a harder time understanding that the character was not a real person. The
researchers involved with the study concluded that, "The results suggest that exposure to
religious ideas has a powerful impact on children's differentiation between reality and
fiction, not just for religious stories but also for fantastical stories."
The above study shows that children that do not have a religious background do
have firmer grip on reality than the religious children. My take on this study is that these
non-religious children analyze the stories more critically, and compare the stories with
what they know to be true or false. On the flip side, many of the religious children were
unable to compare the stories with what is factually possible or impossible. This supports
my point that teaching kids that Evolution is true and more applicable to our life, it will
help human beings develop a more critical mind early on, therefore enhancing our
cognitive evolution.
I wanted to hear opinions from other people though, so I picked two very
stubborn people to interview, one religious and one non-religious, and ask questions
about how they felt their beliefs on religion affected their beliefs on relevant situations.
This interview process was very interesting. I was looking their opinions on political and

social matters, and how their beliefs about religion affected their view on those manners.
What I pulled away the most from this was that they both believed in good and evil, but
had very different connotations between the definition of good and evil.
The first person I interviewed is Jayson Pickering, who is a Christian musician
(by the name JayP) who describes himself as a devout and faithful Christian. When
asked about Homosexual Marriage he responded with, I have had Gay friends in my life,
and I always let them know that I love them, but I also tell them that God has better plan
for them that will bring them more happiness. When I asked him to describe to me why
he felt that way, he opened a bible and asked me to read a verse. The verse was Leviticus
18:22, which reads, You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an
abomination. Jayson went on to explain that an abomination to God is Evil. I followed
up with the following question, So you belief that Homosexuality is Evil. Jayson
answered, Yes, any abomination to god is something that I believe to be evil. Curious,
I asked him what he sees as good and evil. He told me that good is in the name of the
lord, and evil is in the name of Satan, and that anything against gods will is evil.
The second interview was with David Alvarez. David is a Strength and
Conditioning specialist with a Bachelors of Science in Human Performance. David
describes himself as Atheist. When I asked him about Homosexuality Marriage his
response was, I really dont care if people are gay or straight. It doesnt hurt me, it
doesnt hurt anyone, so I really dont give two shits if gay people get married. In a
follow up question I asked him how his Atheist beliefs effects his belief on homosexual
marriage. His response was short and frank, It doesnt. When I asked to elaborate he
iterated that Atheist only means that he believes that god is false, and disagrees with

organized religion, but that has nothing to do with his stance on homosexual marriage. In
order to compare Davids beliefs to Jaysons, I asked David if he believes in good and
evil, he responded in the affirmative. I then asked him what he feels is good and evil.
His response was that, What I think is evil is when someone purposefully hurts someone
else for their own benefit. I think that Greed is bad, and result in people doing evil
things.
As I mentioned before, Jayson and David had a different connotation on good and
evil. Jayson defined good and evil by the bible, and based good vs. evil on whether or
not something was in the favor of god. David on the other hand viewed good and evil
based on how whether or not something affects others in a positive or negative way. This
shows to me that Davids view of good and evil were based on observable traits, those
traits being if an action causes unnecessary harm to another person. Jaysons view of
good and evil were based on beliefs only, and seemed to actually ignore the social effects
of actions. After this interview, I realized that creationary beliefs of good and evil also
have an effect on how we as humans interact socially, and realized that maybe being
stuck on religious beliefs do hinder conformity within our society. This was shown by
how the devout Christian believes Homosexuality is evil as defined by the bible, whereas
the Atheist pointed out that it poses no detriment any one group or individual.
This tells me that instilling biblical beliefs into political and social issues creates
content and divide amongst one another as human beings, and causes detrimental divide
in our civilization. It is clear that religious beliefs need to be completely separated from
government.

Organized Christianity was initially used as a form of Government, and I believe

it was intentionally created as a method to enforce and retain a social hierarchy. God is
taught as an all merciful loving god. Was god really merciful, or was he a king of all
kings? The bible itself actually portrays god in many different contradicting ways, but
here are quotes of the bible that put question to the true intent of the creation of god and
Christianity.
The book of Exodus actually says, The Lord is a man of War. In the book of
Isaiah the bible reads, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon
a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. In the book of Psalms it is
written that God is king of all the earth. The book of Deuteronomy says that not
believing in God should result in capital punishment, despite the commandment that
mankind shall not kill, with the writing, Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of
the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such
evil must be purged from Israel.
These verses of the bible show me that the biblical god is actually a violent and
narcissistic king. The bible was used to create fear and obedience to the king and
government, and to keep people in their societal place. To disobey would result in
spending eternity in a separate dimension that involves burning in everlasting fire and
torment. Monarchial governments taught that kings were given their power from god
himself, and teach that we cannot question god or the kings that are granted power in the
name of god, else ye shall burn in the fiery torment of Hell. Christianity IS a fear based
religion, which made people fear the idea of civil disobedience itself.

Needless to say, this is the 21st century, and we now reside in a democracy. A
democracy does not answer to a king, nor to a god, but a democracy answers to the best
interests of the people within the democracy. For obvious reasons, killing people for not
believing in god is not in the best interests of humanity nor society.
After contemplation and evaluation of my research and experiences, I believe that
I have confirmed that Creationism should be considered irrelevant, if not detrimental, in
society, politics, and the public education system. I do not mean to give the connotation
that I believe that religion is one hundred percent bad and should be abolished. As a
Spiritual and Agnostic individual, I fully accept that we as humans do not, and cannot
possibly know or understand everything that there is to be known about our existence and
our significance to the greater picture. There are many things that are not explained by
religion or science. As humans we need to accept that, and operate as a society only on
what is relevant to our current lives. Holding onto supernatural law according to a
heavenly king is irrelevant and detrimental to our society.
I stand by our freedom of religion and accept that not a single spiritual belief can
be proven nor disproven. However, I do believe we need to separate creationism and
supernatural beliefs from education and societal interactions, including politics. We need
to teach children at a young age to critically analyze observable and applicable
phenomena, and teach them to simultaneously think open mindedly, scientifically, and
critically. As a conclusion, I believe that making it clear to children early on that Science
and Evolution is far more relevant to todays society than any religious or creationary
beliefs, it will indeed enhance our social and cognitive evolution. It is in the best
interests of Humanity.

Works Cited

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