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Creationism and evolutionism are two theories that seek to explain the creation and
evolution of life and the Universe.

Creationism is based on the sacred books of monotheistic religions: the Torah

(Judaism), the Bible (Christianity) and the Koran (Islam). It argues that life and the
Universe were created by a supernatural being, an omnipotent and benevolent God.

Evolutionism, on the other hand, is based on Darwin's concept of natural selection, in

which living beings evolved and adapted until they reached the point where they are
today.

Evolutionism states that life on Earth arose from a universal common ancestor around
3.8 billion years ago. It is a "theory" in the scientific sense of the word, which means
that it is supported by evidence and accepted as fact by science.

The idea of creationism, on the other hand, is based on sacred accounts and faith, not
evidence.

Creationism Evolutionism

Creationism is the belief that life, the Earth Evolutionism preaches that evolution is the process by
and the Universe are the creation of a which different types of living organisms have
Definition supernatural being called God developed and diversified during Earth's history

Content Religious Scientific

Main base The Bible, specifically the book of Genesis Book "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin

Evolution Beings were created the way they are today Beings evolved to the stage they are today

It has
evidence No Yes
Some of the statements most accepted by creationists are:

 The existence of a creator God;

 The world was made in a period of six days;

 The world is only a few thousand years old;

 God specially intervened to create life forms on earth, without using previous,
extinct life forms to do so;

 The natural sciences' view of the age of the world and the origin of current life
forms is wrong.
The creationist theory is shared by the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. However, polytheistic religions, such as Hinduism, also have
their own mythical account of the creation of the universe.

Theistic Evolutionism
There are currents that try to reconcile the creationist view with the evolutionist view.
One of them is theistic evolutionism, which defends:

 There is a creator God;

 The biblical account must be seen as allegorical;

 The world developed over a longer period of time than six days;

 The world is much older than a few thousand years;

 God used previous and extinct life forms to produce the life forms we see today;

 The majority view in the natural sciences about the age of the world and the
origin of today's life forms is correct.

Atheistic Evolutionism
For their part, atheists try to defend another point of view. Some defend atheistic
evolutionism and the following theses:

 There is no God, or at least we have no reason to believe that there is;

 The world developed over a longer period of time than six days;

 The world is about 4.5 billion years old;

 The life forms we see today emerged from previous, extinct life forms.

 The view in the natural sciences about the age of the world and the origin of
today's life forms is correct.
How do species evolve?

Evolutionary theory holds that living organisms that do not adapt to their environment
cannot survive.

Genetic variations are introduced into species through random DNA mutations, which
manifest themselves in the physical characteristics of living organisms. Then, the
organisms whose characteristics are best suited to the environment survive and
reproduce, passing on their mutated DNA to subsequent generations.

As the surviving organisms reproduce and this process is repeated over several
generations, the species becomes better able to survive its surroundings. This process is
called evolution.

Types of evolution
Divergent evolution occurs when a species separates into two species. For example,
they may have separated geographically and adapted differently to survive their
environments.

Parallel evolution, on the other hand, occurs when two or more species develop similar
traits, such as the appearance of wings in order to survive in the same environment.

Finally, convergent evolution occurs when two or more species develop similar traits,
but in different environments.

Evidence of evolutionism
Evolution is based on evidence from fossil records, similarities between life forms,
geographical distribution and changes in species.

Since the 1920s, for example, hundreds of fossils have been found of creatures in the
intermediate stages between primates and humans. Fossil records generally suggest that
multicellular organisms only appeared after unicellular ones and that complex animals
were preceded by simpler ones.
Evolution through creationism
There are many versions of creationist theory. Young Earth Creationism and Gap
Creationism believe that humanity was created by God, who already made them the way
they are today.

On the other hand, progressive creationism believes that humanity was created directly
by God, based on the anatomy of primates.

Meanwhile, Intelligent Design and Theistic Evolution include a variety of beliefs based
on the idea that divine intervention led to something that would be the evolution of
species.

Criticising creationist theories

To be called scientific, a research method must be based on empirical and measurable
evidence, subject to specific principles of reasoning. This means that scientific
hypotheses must be testable.

Critics of creationism argue that this theory is unprovable. In other words, the existence
of God cannot be proven. After all, scientific studies have refuted many elements of
creationism, including the age of the Earth, its geological history and the relationships
of living organisms.

Anthropology, geology and planetary science reveal that the Earth is approximately 4.5
billion years old, disputing creationist claims that the Earth was created around 6,000
years ago.

Criticising evolutionary theories

In turn, many creationists argue that evolution is a "theory" and not a fact, and should
therefore be taught as such.

However, this is based on a misunderstanding of the use of the term "theory".

Scientifically, theory does not mean "possibility", but rather "a scientifically acceptable
general principle for explaining phenomena".