CreationStudies Institute
[Originally published as Brainwashing Our Next Generation]
“There is no evidence supporting the Creationist worldview.” “Creation is a religion and has no place in science.” “Creation and evolution should never be taught side by side because evolution can be proven, while creation is subjective.”
Are these statements factual?
After the famous Scopes Trial in 1925, evolution gradually took over the educational scene in America as its proponents continued their mission to replace the biblical account with naturalistic Darwinian evolution. Today, most scientific communities, academic institutions, and public media uphold these claims. They passionately assert that there is only one perspective: evolution is true and acts as the central force in nature, shaping both us and the world around us. This is what is being taught in our classrooms today, effectively separating them from any thought of a Creator.
Discoveries in genetics, DNA, genetic mutations, and the advent of high-powered electron microscopes have provided new insights into the invisible biomolecular world. These discoveries have significantly expanded the fields of biology. As a result, a need arose to unify the various subdisciplines within biology under a common theme. Biologists turned to Darwinian evolution as a foundational base, positing that every organism originates from newly discovered biomolecules and bacteria. This process unfolded over millions of years, leading to the branches of evolution, with humans positioned at the top branch as the fittest and most genetically adapted.
With federal support, 1960s science education, including biology, underwent significant changes. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) promoted evolution as fact, producing high school texts like Biological Science: Molecules to Man (1963). Founded in Boulder, Colorado, in 1958, BSCS collaborated with the University of Colorado, and by the 1970s, over 50% of schools adopted their textbooks.
The BSCS’s strong evolutionary bias, backed by other publishers and the biological scientific community, taught that all living things, including humans, originated through evolution, positioning nature’s evolution as our Creator. The theory of evolution is presented as scientific fact, disguised as a secular (atheistic) philosophical viewpoint that suggests nature, over deep time described in millions of years, can organize, plan, and create complex living things through gradual processes.
The origins of living things and their kinds extend beyond testable hypotheses and should be classified as metaphysical. The metaphysical realm is speculative, abstract, transcendent, and supernatural. This is why the creation-evolution debate is so contentious — It pits God’s Word against man’s word.
This controversy brought the issue to U.S. courts, where many believed that the dogmatic teaching of evolution should be removed or that alternative viewpoints, such as those of creationists and Intelligent Design proponents, should be included. The first attempt to challenge this occurred in 1968, aiming to abolish the teaching of evolution in public schools under Arkansas’s “Monkey Law.” This attempt failed in Epperson v. Arkansas (1968), when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it violated the First Amendment.
Two decades later, in the Edwards v. Aguillard case (1987), the Supreme Court applied the three-prong Lemon Test established in 1971, which includes:
- Having a secular purpose,
- Producing a secular effect, and
- Entailing no excessive entanglement between government and religion.
The Court ruled against the state of Louisiana, prohibiting creation science instruction alongside evolution in public schools. By employing the Lemon Test, the Court determined that the primary purpose was to promote religious doctrine, thereby violating the first prong — maintaining a secular purpose.
Interestingly, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Lemon case in 2022, nullifying the Lemon Test as a tool to determine the constitutionality of public expressions deemed religious. This has opened the door for test cases to proceed, including the introduction of Ten Commandments displays on public property, including public schools. It also means that the Court’s longstanding prohibition on Creation Science in public education might likewise be overturned, opening the schoolhouse door for America’s youth to learn the case for creation in government-run science classes.
The Creation Studies Institute, in partnership with Coral Ridge Ministries, is now considering the introduction of state legislation that would mandate creation science instruction alongside evolution.
Since the 1987 ruling, attempts have been made in lower courts to allow other viewpoints to be discussed, including Intelligent Design regarding origins. However, the courts have ruled against any changes, consistently upholding the Edwards v. Aguillard decision. The issue of origins will always be disputed because the beginning of everything extends into the metaphysical realm.
Creationists and evolutionists use the same evidence, scientific tools, and investigative methods. Yet, they reach different conclusions about our origins because their beliefs extend beyond the material and natural world. Ultimately, it comes down to who we are and what we believe, which is why this matter will remain controversial for years to come.
Is there a correlation between the dogmatic teaching of evolution over the years and people’s faith?
Numerous studies have tracked the creation-evolution debate, notably a Gallup survey first conducted in 1982 and repeated 14 times until 2024. Last year’s Gallup report revealed that 24% of respondents believe God was not involved in the origin of humans, marking a new high. This atheistic belief in the natural evolution of humans is significantly growing, escalating from 9% in 1982 to 24% in 2024.
The poll also indicated a decline in creationist belief that God created man in his present form, decreasing from 40% in 1984 to 34%. According to the study, individuals who attended church more frequently, identified as politically conservative, and held Protestant beliefs were more likely to be Creationists. In contrast, those who attended church less often, or not at all, and had higher levels of education tended to lean toward strict evolution. Megan Brenan, a senior editor at Gallup, summarized this in a Gallup Poll News article dated July 20, 2024, stating:
“As Americans have become less religious over the past four decades, their beliefs about the origin of humans have shifted, with fewer now saying God created human beings in their current form and more saying humans evolved without God’s help from less advanced forms of life over millions of years.”
The Pew Research Center, after an exhaustive 17–year study of the religious landscape of America that began in 2007 and ended in 2023–24, surveying close to 37,000 adults, has reported a long-term decline in those who identify as Christian, from 78% to 62%, a 16% decrease. The data also demonstrates that people are not merely changing their faith but are losing it. The “nones,” those who do not identify as religious, rose significantly from 16% in 2007 to 29% in 2024, reflecting an increase of 13%.
The Pew Research data correlates with recent Gallup findings mentioned above, indicating that America is slowly walking away from God. The brainwashing continues in our schools through the teaching of evolution and various new agendas that have infiltrated our educational systems, aimed solely at diverting the next generation’s attention from our Creator and Savior. The current data presented above, along with our observations of the lawlessness in an upside-down world where logic fails and foolishness reigns, echoes King David’s prophetic words:
The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. (Psalm 14:1)
Are there crucial facts indicating the existence of a Creator that we can observe and understand? Is there scientific evidence supporting an all-intelligent, all-powerful, and ever-present Creator? We have the hope of Christ, as evidence abounds everywhere for open-minded individuals willing to see, observe, and engage with Christ, who seeks them for a loving relationship that will last forever. Christ is manifested here on earth and in this vast cosmos that He created, so we never forget Him. We are reminded of who Christ is in Colossians 1:15–17:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.”
References
- Gallup Poll: Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design
- Gallup Poll Report: Majority Still Credits God for Humankind, but Not Creationism
- The Federalist: America Becoming Less Christian Is A Problem For Everyone
- Pew Research: Decline of Christianity in the U.S. Has Slowed, May Have Leveled Off
