Who Thinks Creationism Should Be Taught and Why?

Nearly a third of teachers (30 percent) surveyed in an Ipsos Mori poll believe creation should be taught as part of science lessons, with 37 percent believing that the subject should be taught “alongside” evolution and the big bang. And while 47 percent don’t think creation should be incorporated in science lessons, 65 percent “agree that creationism should be discussed in schools.” And if only science educators are included, that number jumps to 73 percent! However, a majority of those science educators (65 percent) do not believe that science class is the place for creation education.

In contrast, only 26 percent agreed that “the only reason to mention creationism in schools is to enable teachers to demonstrate why the idea is scientific nonsense and has no basis in evidence or rational thought.”

The poll was conducted on 923 primary and secondary educators in England and Wales. Ipsos Mori head of education research Fiona Johnson notes, “Our findings suggest that many teachers are trying to . . . acknowledge that—regardless of, or even despite, ‘the science’—pupils may have a variety of strongly held, and arguably equal value, faith-based beliefs.” The Ipsos Mori poll coincides with a recent Teachers TV poll that showed that a third of respondents “believe creationism should be given the same status as evolution in the classroom.”

A Press Association article (no longer available online) references the embarrassing (for evolutionists) September kerfuffle when evolutionist Michael Reiss, director of education for Britain’s Royal Society, was fired for even mentioning that creation shouldn’t be “shot down” in the classroom, even though he steadfastly slammed creation as “unscientific” and in no way endorsed creation to be taught.

For now, despite popular adherence to a variety of pro-creation attitudes (albeit many which still endorse evolution), it seems many of the scientific “elite” are too steadfastly opposed to allowing creation in the classroom—or, in some cases, even discussion of the problems with evolution—for that censorship to be lifted. It mirrors the situation stateside, where—despite the media spin in America—it is actually a well-organized pro-evolution minority that continues to push for blind evolutionary indoctrination for students, even if it means critical thinking is thrown out the window.

One thing for certain, though, is that Christian parents—as always—are primarily responsible for teaching their children the truth about origins (with the support of church pastors and teachers, of course).