Darwin and Racism

Darwin and Racism

The full title of Darwin’s most famous work included some stark words: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Darwin wasn’t the first to propose biological arguments for racism, but his works fueled the most ugly and deadly racism.

Darwin’s Influence on Hitler

Hitler believed that people were engaged in a constant struggle for survival. The climax of history would be the survival of the fittest race—which he believed to be the “Aryan race.” Darwin’s theory, upon which those tyrants based their actions, was wrong.

Darwin’s Sacred Cause by Adrian Desmond and James Moore

In their efforts to rescue Darwin and evolution from its obvious racist implications, Desmond and Moore have tried to paint Darwin as the kindly humanitarian scientist. While their efforts are laudable, in the end their argument is not convincing, failing on several counts.

Articles About Darwin and Racism

  • Hitler and Evolution

    Sir Arthur Keith was a British anthropologist, an atheistic evolutionist and an anti-Nazi, but he drew this chilling conclusion about Hitler.

  • Did Darwin Promote Racism?

    Racism is an ugly, hurtful scar across human history. But is racism the natural consequence of believing in Darwinian evolution?

  • Aug. 21, 2021 from One Race, One Blood

    Darwinian evolution was and is inherently a racist philosophy. It teaches that different groups or “races” of people evolved at different times and rates.

  • July 17, 2021 from One Race, One Blood

    Now that we understand more about genetics, we know that the process of natural selection can never form new kinds of animals and plants: this revelation uproots the weeds of racism

  • May 15, 2021 from One Race, One Blood

    Chapter 1 of One Race One Blood: How Darwinian evolution inspired new forms of racism in Western civilization, resulting in untold human suffering and destruction

  • Oct. 26, 2019 from The New Answers Book 4

    When people reject God as the ultimate authority, then man is attempting to elevate his or her thoughts to a position of authority over God and His Word.

  • Belief in Human Evolution: Cause, Co-Conspirator, or Cure for Racism?
    Sept. 8, 2012 from News to Know

    Belief in human evolution: cause, co-conspirator, or cure for racism?

  • Dark Side of Darwin
    Nov. 28, 2009 from News to Know

    Are creationists the only ones pointing out the “dark side” (the perturbing implications) of Darwin’s view on life’s origins?

  • Magazine Department Article
    Whitewashing
    June 3, 2009 from Answers Magazine

    In a strange twist on history, Charles Darwin is now credited with developing his evolutionary views to help fight racism and slavery.

  • Darwin’s Sacred Cause?
    April 7, 2009

    A recent book claims that Darwin’s hatred of slavery was foundational to his pursuit of his concepts of evolution. But what do Darwin’s words actually show?

  • Jefferson vs. Hitler
    April 22, 2008

    Dr. David DeWitt examines the Darwinism–Nazism connection examined in Ben Stein’s new film Expelled.

  • Magazine Article
    Darwin’s Impact—The Bloodstained Legacy of Evolution
    March 1, 2005, pp. 46–47

    I had seen the horrific impact of Nazis and had then experienced the similarly grim effect of Communism. Why was such enormous evil unleashed on so many people?

  • Lawmakers Miss the Boat!
    May 22, 2001

    The recent passage of a resolution in the State of Louisiana (US) House of Representatives earned more notoriety for what it left out than for what it actually said.

  • Technical Research Paper
    The Darwinian Foundation of Communism
    April 1, 2001, pp. 89–95

    A review of the writings of the founders of communism shows that the theory of evolution, especially as taught by Darwin, was critically important in the development of modern communism.

  • Technical Research Paper
    Darwinism and the Nazi Race Holocaust
    Nov. 1, 1999, pp. 101–111

    Leading Nazis, and early 1900 influential German biologists, revealed in their writings that Darwin’s theory and publications had a major influence upon Nazi race policies.

  • Magazine Article
    Savages and Ancestors
    June 1, 1999, pp. 16–17

    Many think that the idea of the evolution of man is a consequence of Darwin’s theories about the evolution of animals. However, the historical order actually runs the other way.

  • Magazine Article
    Ota Benga
    Dec. 1, 1993, pp. 48–50

    One of the most fascinating stories about the effects of evolution on human relations is the story of Ota Benga, a pygmy who was put on display in a zoo.

  • Magazine Article
    Darwin Thought Natives Were Advanced Animals
    Dec. 1, 1993, pp. 37–38

    Charles Darwin visited the rugged land of Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America.

  • Magazine Article
    Aboriginal Technology vs. Evolutionary Racism
    Sept. 1, 1992, pp. 19–20

    A huge official volume on Technology in Australia, 1788–1988, has been taken to task in a well-respected science journal1 for incorrect inferences regarding Australia’s Aboriginal people.

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