Creationism's European Offshoot Begins to Bud

Whatever happened to "Non-Overlapping Magisteria"?

Photo by Doug. (License: Creative Commons Attribution)

In January of 2007, I wrote an article title Creationism Evolves European Offshoot, noting the growing prevalence of creationist activism in the UK. A group ironically calling itself Truth in Science, with the help of America's Discovery Institute, has actively attempted to insert creationism into British science education. Disturbingly, they have had some success.

Pupils taking Biology GCSE with exam board OCR this year became the first students in mainstream education to answer questions on the theory in a science exam.

Within the US, the separation between Church and State has formed a barrier that, despite incidents such as Kitzmiller vs. Dover, has managed to keep religion out of the science classroom, to no little groaning on the part of fundamentalist Christians.

Currently, a group call the AH Trust, concerned over the primacy the Theory of Evolution holds over religious beliefs about life's origins and history, are actively seeking land on which to build a gigantic theme park promoting a literal interpretation of the Bible and making a multi-media case that God created the world in seven days. The $7 million theme park will feature two movie theaters, shops, a cafeteria and plans to apply for government grants and European funding to help it turn its television studio into 'an international leader in promoting family-oriented Christian programmes'. The park's business plan predicts nearly $9 million/year in profits (No "prophet" estimate was available at the time of writing).

A mere two years ago, prominent atheist Richard Dawkins could state regarding creationism

It comes from an exceedingly retarded, primitive version of religion, which unfortunately is at present undergoing an epidemic in the United States. Not in Europe, not in Britain, but in the United States. My American friends tell me that you are slipping towards a theocratic Dark Age.

Today, creationism, put off by the immune system comprised of America's 1st Amendment Establishment clause, has sought and found more fertile ground in England. Whether Europe's pragmatically secular societies can fight off the infection which their body politic seems ill-prepared to address remains to be seen.

Welcome to religion's Age of Lysenkoism. We hope you enjoy the rides.

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