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The Creation Controversy: Science or Scripture in Schools

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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."