The Creation Controversy: Science or Scripture in the Schools [Hardcover]

Dorothy Nelkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1982

In 1999, by the board of education in Kansas voted to delete all mention of evolution from the states recommended science curriculum and also from its educational assessment tests. This decision, and similar decisions in other states, suggest the persistence of creationists and their ability to capture sufficient support to influence educational policies. Although evolutionary ideas have become increasing important to many scientific fields, the creationists still have significant influence on science curriculum. How have religious fundamentalists and right wing conservatives managed to have such influence? In this science-dominated age, why is their such opposition to the teaching of evolution? This book places the Kansas decision in the broader context of the controversy between creationists and evolutionists, as a group of religious fundamentalists who defined themselves as scientists have challenged the most basic assumptions of contemporary biology. Though motivated by religious beliefs, they have tried to bypass the Constitutional requirement for the separation of church and state as they seek to influence legislature and school boards. Looking at the people involved in this social movement and tracing changes in their arguments and strategies, this book links the creation-evolution controversy to broader questions about the meaning of religion in a secular science, public trust in science, and persistent concerns about its social and moral implications.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1 edition (October 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393016358
• ISBN-13: 978-0393016352
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,967,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CREATIONIST MOVEMENT, June 30, 2010

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Creation Controversy: Science or Scripture in Schools (Paperback)

Dorothy Nelkin (1933-2003) was an American sociologist of science most noted for her work researching and chronicling the unsettled relationship between science and society at large. She was a supporter of National Center for Science Education (NCSE), and in 1981 testified for the plaintiffs in McLean v. Arkansas.

She notes in the Preface, "This study began simply out of curiosity about the creationists as a group of people who represented themselves as scientists while challenging the most sacred assumptions and norms of the scientific establishment. As the disputes developed over the teaching of evolution theory and its presentations in textbooks ... the creationists' demands, which had seemed so out of step in the 1970s, emerged as an expression of basic and rather widespread criticism of science and its pervasive influnence on social values. Thus, the story turned to analyze the creationists dispute as an expression of this new concern."

She devotes some space to outlining the different creationist organizations, stating that "In 1972, the CSRC (Creation-Science Research Center) was divided in a conflict over copyright questions, and some of its members formed a new group, the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), which soon became the dominant creationist organization.... ICR works to develop a reputation as the 'scholarly arm of the creationist movement,' debunking the CSRC as a 'promotional and sales organization' and its director as a man with 'an honorary doctorate from Los Angeles Christian University---a college with no telephone listing and no campus."

She argues, "Creationists claim publicly to be scientists, and they adopt the language and forms of science. Yet by seeking external polical approval of the validity and justice of their arguments, they ignore the constraints imposed by the norms of the scientific community."

She concludes on the note, "the revival of fundamentalism fills a social void. The creationists are part of this revival, reflecting a quest for order and authority in a society increasingly influenced by the censors of the right. Using representations that are well adapted to the twentieth century and claiming scientific plausibility as well as salvation and the authority of science as well as the certainty of Scripture. Fusing three venerated traditions of American culture---science, religion, and populist democrary---their influence is likely to persist."