Darwin’s birthday challenge to creationism

Darwin’s 200th birthday has become a rallying point for scientists opposing creationism as the 18 month long celebrations of his birth and the 150th anniversary of his theory started this week.

Four out of ten Britons now believe either in Creation or in its watered-down cousin Intelligent Design and Creationism is being taught in state-approved schools.

Dr Bob Bloomfield of the Natural History Museum who is a key player in the Darwin 200 project expressed his concerns: “The statistics in this country are quite frightening. I don’t think society can be complacent when ideas which are unsound are perpetrated. We are trying not to compromise people’s faith views, other than where they are absolutely inconsistent with science”.

Secularist of the Year winner, Professor Steve Jones of University College London, has been accused by university students of “telling lies and insulting people’s religion’” by teaching evolution. “They want permission not to come to those lectures and sit those exam questions,” he said. “I have been teaching genetics and evolutionary biology for 30 years and for the first 20 I think the issue arose once. That’s changed”.

Professor Jones is one of the many scientists involved in Darwin’s birthday projects. He and Professor Jonathon Silvertown of the Open University are involved in a mass science project to discover evolutionary changes in banded snails that will involve tens of thousands of people across Europe.

Among other projects to celebrate Darwin and challenge creationism, the BBC will be showing a major new series and the Natural History Museum will open a Darwin exhibition in November.

Friday 6 June 2008