Public opinion on evolution still evolving
A Monday lecture at Elgin Community College proved just how far the debate on creationism and evolution has evolved.
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, presented "What Creationists Think About Evolution and Why it's Wrong" at the College's Advanced Technology Center auditorium.
With some seated cross-legged on the auditorium's floor, others perched on its steps, ECC students, faculty and curious community members turned out in droves to hear a leader in the fight to keep evolution in the classroom - and creationism out.
James Richards, an ECC student just a few credits shy of earning an Associates in Science degree, said he considers himself to be both a dedicated Christian and an avid science student. "I'm interested in just how far Scott will go to disprove creationism," he said.
Scott's nonprofit, California-based organization bills itself as the only national organization that specializes in defending evolution education in elementary and secondary schools.
The group closely watches the creationism movement and offers advice to teachers and school boards who have been pressured to downplay evolution or give equal time to creationism.
Most recently, the group consulted pro bono in the Dover, Pa., lawsuit, in which a judge ruled that teaching a version of creationism called intelligent design in a public school science class was unconstitutional.
Scott, a soft-spoken middle-aged woman, presented her group's beliefs - and the common misconceptions they face -matter-of-factly.
Many creationists, she said, wonder why monkeys still exist if humans came from monkeys.
"This misconception illustrates a major confusion held by many about evolution," Scott said, "that fish evolved into amphibians, which evolved into reptiles, which evolved into mammals, which evolved into humans in some ladder of life."
The ladder of life description of evolution, Scott said, "is erroneous. Evolution is really a branching and splitting of lineage's through time. (The difference between) ladders and trees is very profound."
Starting with a conclusion, then looking for evidence to support it, as Biblical-based creationism often does, is "very dangerous. Religious beliefs are fine but shouldn't be confused with science. Whatever your ideology, let the facts speak for themselves," Scott said.
Intelligent design, Scott believes, is "non functional" in schools. She urged members of mainstream Christian communities to step up to the plate, "to say that (teaching evolution) is not an issue to be debated in public schools."
Some ECC students, like Sapana Patel, were encouraged to attend the lecture by their professors. "I disagreed with some of the smaller points she made," Patel said. "But overall I enjoyed it. I'm glad I heard what she had to say."