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Creationism Vs. Evolution: Do people want them in school?

Marielle Dumas

English IV/4th period Mrs.Jones March 27th, 2014 Outline

Dumas I. Background of evolution and creationism a. Evolution has many meanings and dates all the way back to the darwinian age. b. Creationism is the belief that all things were created by a God and opposes the theory of evolution. c. There are many ongoing controversies going on between the two theories. II. Evolution and Creationism; Theory or belief? a. Arguments have been made stating that evolution is a fact while others state that it is a theory. b. Almost half of america's population believe in creationism. III. Being taught in schools a. Americas people have been undecided on whether or not the want creationism and evolution to be taught in school as a theory or in some other form. b. There have been a various amount of diverse arguments and debates between the topic. c. Surprisingly, a lot of individuals don't know much about the two theories. d. People believe that teaching creationism and evolution in school will actually affect our students views and ways of thinking. IV. Conclusion a. . There have been many arguments and views against and supporting of creationism and evolution being taught in school. Marielle Dumas English IV/ 4th period

Dumas Mrs. Jones Evolution vs. Creationism

Individuals believe in creation, some in evolution, and some are undecided (Morris Henry). Some argue whether or not evolution and creationism should be taught in school. Others feel as though creation is not a valid enough idea to actually be taught to the youth of our generation. There have been many debates and controversy going on for many years about this subject. That is because people feel strongly about this topic and their beliefs. Surveys, articles, case studies and a vast amount of other sources state that a large amount of people all over the world want both evolution and creationism to be taught in school due to the fact that both attempt to explain the origins of the universe which should make people understand both sides and theories. Background of Evolution and Creationism The word evolution is the change or growth that occurs in a particular order. Evolution can refer to a broad selection of things including astronomical and computer design. Today the word is mostly used in reference to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection which is also known as the theory of survival of the fittest and natural selection. Darwins theory of evolution states that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor. That basically means that were all related with each other including animals and plant life. It also means that over billions of years, everything on this earth, including the human race, has slowly developed over time and have become what we are today and will continue to evolve.

Dumas Creationism is the theory that God made the world out of nothing. It is believed that creationism is also the theory that the Bible is the true guide to the history of the universe and of life. Creationism is also known as intelligent design which is just an alternative way of explaining creationism. Intelligent design,which is also a theory, is basically the scientific way of explaining creationism. It states that the cause of all things came about not by evolution but by an intelligent cause. People that believe in creationism are usually religious. Charles Robert Darwin, an English naturalist, is the reason why the theory of evolution came about. He formed the base for evolution with his theory of natural selection. His theory has been dismissed because there have been many developments on the topic for example, the discovery of the law of inheritance. The theory of creation comes from the book of genesis. The book of genesis tells the story of God creating the world and the first humans in exactly seven days. People have believed in creation for as long as can be remembered until it was challenged by the theory of evolution. Over the years, there has been an ongoing controversy between creationism and evolution. When the theory of evolution came about, many religious people felt that it went against their theory of creationism. This controversy, also known as the origins debate, goes all the way back into the darwinian age and even started before darwins theory. In the past, it was a mere conflict between science and religion. The controversy branches out into many aspects of our society such as politics and culture. One of the largest debates is the one that consists of the two being taught in school. Theory or Belief

Dumas Individuals have long pondered whether or not evolution was a theory, fact, or belief. It has been said that evolution cannot be a belief because it is entirely based on fact. It has also been said that for evolution to be a fact it has to have not only proof but have been observed with ones very own eyes. Nine out of ten scientists from non religious and religious colleges said they were not aware of any evidence that challenged the theory of evolution. What that being said, there are people who still believe that evolution is both a theory and fact. Many scientists argue that creationism is nothing but a belief because no one had scientifically proven a theory based on a scripture. About 46% of american believe in creationism as opposed to the 32% the believes in the theory of evolution. As you can see, almost half of the americans support creationism. Creationist Ray Comfort stated that creationism should be looked upon as science in this statement: I believe in science. It just means knowledge, thats all it means. Theres different areas of science, different areas of knowledge. When you say the Bible is not a science book, youre saying its not a knowledge book? It tells us how God created the Earth! (Comfort Ray) This quote is important because he shares the same view as many americans that supports the theory of creationism.

People hold many different views and thoughts on the ideas of evolution and creationism. Some people have said that both ideas are plausible because they both are unproven ideas of the world, therefore making them both theories.

Dumas Being Taught in School One of the biggest ongoing arguments between evolution and creationism is should they be taught in school alongside each other. Some people think that the two should be taught alongside each other in science class. Others believe that only evolution should be taught as a science and creationism as a religion. According to debate.org, fifty percent of people say yes, the both should be taught in school and the other fifty percent says no. Eighty-three percent of Americans, want the theory of evolution to be taught in the nations public schools (PFAW 6). Although most Americans want to keep evolution in the public schools, they are not clear about how they would want schools to deal with religious explanations for human origins.Thirteen percent say they want both Evolution and Creationism to be taught as scientific theories in science class. People may believe that creation shouldn't be taught in school because creationism is not science nor social studies and is more of a religion, but, social studies includes the natures of humanity thus making it have the same concept of creationism. Professor Reis stated that instead of dismissing the theory of creationism as being wrong, it should be taught as another worldview. Also, a nationwide poll has revealed that 79% of Americans believe that creation should be taught in its public schools (Looy Mark). Over the ages, there have been many debates on the subject of evolution and creationism being taught in school. In these debates, people have said things such as they believe that there is enough evidence to support both sides and that they both should be taught using all supporting evidence of the two. A few people have even said to

Dumas not teach neither evolution nor creationism. These people say this because they feel that by teaching these things in school, theyre swaying our students opinion on the subject of religion. Some people argue that there is not any scientific proof of creationism making it nothing but a belief. People have even went as far as to calling the theory stupid or wrong. Another ongoing debate it the one that states evolution has entirely more scientific evidence than creationism thus completely dismissing it. It has been said that creationism is only a belief because there is not scientific evidence to prove it , but creationism is a theory just like evolution because, as mentioned earlier, it elaborates on how the origin of humankind came about thus making it a theory. A theory is not a fact. It is only a system of ideas created in the hopes to explain something. With that being said, the claims of evolution being a fact cannot be true because a fact must be proven by observation and sight. According to PFAW, most americans are not familiar with the concept of creationism. Of the people that know of the theory of creationism, only about four in ten of them say they are very familiar with it. Which means an estimate of two in ten of America's people, by their own account, say they are very familiar with the theory of creationism. Among all Americans, only twenty-seven percent would classify creationism as an accurate account of how humans developed (PFAW). When it comes to Evolution, just about everyone (ninety-five percent) has heard of the term creationism. Most Americans are not convinced that the Theory of Evolution accurately accounts for how humans were created and developed. People fear that having evolution taught in schools will lead our students away from the views of religion. They feel that teaching evolution in our schools are

Dumas brainwashing our students. It has been said that evolution is not a fact and therefore it shouldn't be taught to our students as if it is. They also feel that evolution can also be a sort of religion because believing in the theory of evolution leads a person to become an atheist which means that they dont believe in an almighty god that rules all. Creationism being taught in school is believed to have just as many effects as evolution. Individuals have stated that having creationism taught in school will stop our students from obtaining the valuable information of the newly formed knowledge of evolution. They feel that both should be taught in school so both views could be understood. Some have even went as far as to saying that by teaching evolution in school will make our students dumb or ignorant of important world views. Evolution and creationism has been a long debate topic. There are people that strongly support both sides and belief thus making it a theory that will long be debated until one or the other is proven wrong. As mentioned earlier, one of the most important and largest debates is the one of whether or not the two should be taught in school. A large amount of sources state that individuals all over the world want both creationism and evolution taught in school for a various number of reasons. Many claims have been made about the two theories. Many arguments have also been formed an debated over for ages. There are people that support both sides and even some that support neither side being taught in school.

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Works Cited

Robinson, B. A.. N.p.. Web. 28 Mar 2014. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm>. N., M. n. page. <http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-creation-theory.htm>. Morris, H.. N.p.. Web. 28 Mar 2014. <http://www.icr.org/article/evolution-creation-public-schools/>. Hess, Diana E. "Should intelligent design be taught in social studies courses?"

Dumas Social Education 70.1 (2006): 8+. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. Moore, Randy. "What Are Students Taught about Evolution?" McGill Journal of Education (2007). Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. Varlese, Erica N. "To Believe or not to Believe? A College Student Explores Knowledge and Attitudes about Evolution at her School." Evolution: Education and Outreach 1.1 (2008): 96+. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. Kirschbaum, Joel. "Teaching the pros and cons of evolution in the 21st century." School Science and Mathematics 109.5 (2009): 243+. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. "'Academic freedom' is no excuse for teaching religion in public schools." Church & State 65.10 (2012): 13. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

"You need to understand your opponents' arguments; Royal Society and the case for creationism." Times [London, England] 12 Sept. 2008: 3. People for the american way, . N.p.. Web. 28 Mar 2014. <http://www.pfaw.org/teaching-evolutioncreationism-publicschools/segmenting-the-publi c-teaching-about-the-origins-of-man>. "SCIENCE, EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM." States News Service 14 Feb. 2013. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.

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