Creationism
Creationism is a religious belief system that asserts the universe was created by a divine being, who is actively involved in its ongoing management. Primarily associated with Christianity in the United States, creationism also finds roots in other religions such as Islam and Judaism. The belief is often contrasted with scientific theories such as the Big Bang and evolution, which present evidence for a much older universe and the gradual development of life over billions of years.
Within creationist thought, there are two notable interpretations: Young Earth Creationism and Old Earth Creationism. Young Earth Creationists adhere to a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, believing that God created the Earth in six days and that it is only thousands of years old. In contrast, Old Earth Creationists accept scientific evidence for the Earth's age and interpret the creation days as longer, non-literal periods.
The debate between creationism and scientific theories has fueled significant controversy, particularly regarding the education system, where discussions about evolution and creationism have led to numerous legal battles. Advocates of creationism often argue for its inclusion in school curricula, sometimes framing it as intelligent design, which posits that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause.
Creationism
Creationism is a religious belief system holding that the universe was created by the free act of a god or other supremely powerful being. The doctrine teaches that this god is and has always been constantly involved in orchestrating the events of the universe, which could not exist without this intervention. Believers in creationism, known as creationists, generally reject scientific conclusions that disagree with their claims about the origin and age of the universe. In the United States, creationism is usually referred to in the context of Christianity, though Islam, Judaism, and a variety of other religions may also be considered creationist faiths.
Creationist Beliefs
Creationism is nearly synonymous with theism, which is simply the belief in the existence of at least one god who made the universe and personally works to shape its destiny at all times. Theism is distinct from deism, the belief that a divine being created the universe but then retreated from it and now does not interfere in its activities.
One of the most popularly known forms of creationism in the twenty-first century is that of Christianity. Christian creationist views are based on the teachings of the Old Testament of the Bible, particularly the first several chapters of the Book of Genesis. These contain the story of creation, in which God is said to have made the world—including its light, seas, land, animals, and first humans, Adam and Eve—in six days.
Young Earth Creationism
Differing interpretations of these writings have led to splits in the larger Christian creationist faction. Fundamentalist Christians hold every word of Christian scripture to be literally true. A prominent form of Christian fundamentalism is Young Earth creationism.
Adherents of this doctrine believe the Genesis story occurred exactly as it is written: that God made the universe in six twenty-four-hour days and Adam and Eve existed alongside every animal known today in its current form.
Young Earth creationists acquired their name because they have calculated that, according to God's six-day schedule, Earth cannot be more than ten thousand years old. Some in this group believe the figure to be about six thousand years, as proposed by Irish archbishop James Ussher in the seventeenth century. Either of these asserted ages of Earth, however, conflicts with the modern scientific estimation of an ancient earth that is 4.5 billion years old.
Old Earth Creationism
Old Earth creationism subscribes to the same core beliefs as its Young Earth counterpart, but with a critical difference: it acknowledges the scientific proof of the ages of Earth and the universe. Old Earth creationists are able to harmonize their beliefs in creationism and science by interpreting Genesis in a less fundamentalist way than Young Earth creationists.
Old Earth creationists view God's six days of creation not as humans see them, as fixed periods lasting twenty-four hours each, but rather as indeterminate lengths of time that together equal the scientifically proven ages of Earth and universe. Some Old Earth creationists do, in fact, view the six days as sets of twenty-four hours, but claim that long gaps of time followed each day.
Arguments Against Creationism
Modern science refutes most of creationism's claims with evidence it has obtained from years of study in physics and biology. Religious and scientific circles have quarreled for many years about the true origin of the universe and continued to argue the point in the twenty-first century. Standard accepted science presents several challenges to religious creationism.
The Big Bang
The primary scientific response against creationism has been the theory of the big bang. This idea proposes that between ten and twenty billion years ago, an enormous explosion sent all the matter and energy in the universe—at that time about the size of a pebble—outward in all directions with unfathomable speed, which is how everything in the universe came to exist.
The universe is still expanding today, the theory claims, though at a much slower rate than immediately after the explosion. Physicists cannot explain why the big bang occurred. They have theorized that the particles of matter that continued to move and form afterward eventually gave rise to everything that exists, including stars, planets, and galaxies.
Evolution
Evolution is another signature scientific concept used to combat creationism. First proposed by English naturalist Charles Darwin in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, evolution is the process by which the heritable traits of organisms change over many years due to the organisms' abilities to adapt successfully to their environments. Heritable traits are those genetic characteristics passed down to offspring from parents.
In simplified form, evolution as Darwin conceived it allows living organisms that are better equipped to survive the challenges of their world to adapt and reproduce. These adaptations over many generations change the genetic makeup of the species. This process, known as natural selection, takes millions of years and ultimately results in the formation of entirely new organisms. The Sinonyx, for example, was a hyena-like land mammal that adapted well to swimming; after sixty million years, it evolved into the modern humpback whale.
Evolution's primary challenge to creationism is that it proposes that all varieties of life, including humans, took hundreds of millions of years to evolve into their present forms. Creationism, meanwhile, claims that a god made all living things, as they are known today, between six thousand and ten thousand years ago.
Controversy
Many creationists reject the idea of evolution and have argued that it should not be taught as fact in schools. Many court cases have emerged due to this conflict. Some states and school districts have sought to prevent discussion of evolution or mandate the inclusion of creationism; many advocating for the inclusion of creationism have argued for a form of the belief system known as intelligent design.
Bibliography
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Matsumura, Molleen, and Louise Mead. "Ten Major Court Cases About Evolution and Creationism." National Center for Science Education, 6 June 2016, ncse.ngo/ten-major-court-cases-about-evolution-and-creationism. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
"Old Earth Creationism." National Center for Science Education, 22 Jan. 2016, ncse.ngo/old-earth-creationism. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
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