Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is intelligent design?

A. Intelligent design, or ID, is a modified version of creationism promoted by Religious Right activists who have been unable to get full-blown creationism taught in public schools. ID purports that life on earth is too complex to have evolved through natural selection, and therefore must be the product of a “designer,” or “intelligent force.”

Q. Is ID a scientific theory?

A. Unlike traditional creationists, ID proponents frequently have advanced degrees and cloak their agenda in academic language, giving their movement the veneer of respectability. Proponents of intelligent design claim the idea isn't religious. Yet the very name of what they are pushing belies that. Mainstream scientists, who no longer regard evolution as controversial, flatly reject intelligent design as pseudo-science and a thinly veiled attempt to bring religion into public schools. Proponents of intelligent design have not been able to get their papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The battle here is political, not scientific. Science regards the issue as closed because intelligent design has no scientific merit. But that does not mean it cannot be forced into the schools anyway. The Religious Right is using the political system to give them something the scientific community will not.

Q. Isn't evolution just a theory?

A. A scientific theory is much more than a guess; it is a well tested product of scientific inquiry. Scientific inquiry requires that a hypothesis can be tested by other scientists. Once the hypothesis is tested so thoroughly that the result is overwhelmingly accepted, you have a scientific theory.

Evolutionary theory posits that life has changed over time, living things share a common ancestor and biological change is driven by forces observable in the world today. Like all scientific theories, evolution is subject to revision if contradicted by new evidence. However, in nearly a century and a half of research, not a single piece of scientific evidence has emerged to contradict the basic premise of evolution. The scientific evidence supporting evolution as an explanation for the diversity of life on Earth is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community. Labeling evolution as “controversial” or comparing theistic beliefs to scientific theories is misleading and misrepresents the nature of science.

Q. Isn't the teaching of evolution anti-religious?

A. Evolution is neutral on the question of religion. The theory deals with how life on earth changed over many millions of years. It does not address the question of the origin of the universe and says nothing about personal morality. These questions belong to the realm of theology. Many religious leaders accept evolution, including Pope John Paul II, who has said that the Bible is a book about how to get to Heaven, not about how Heaven was made.

Q. Why is the Religious Right pushing for the teaching of intelligent design in public schools?

A. Religious Right leaders view intelligent design as a stepping stone to the introduction of full-blown creationism and religion into public schools. Phillip Johnson, one of the main proponents of intelligent design, pioneered a strategy called “the Wedge” in which ID is a vehicle to get people thinking about religion. He argues that by moving the debate from evolution vs. creationism to the question of God's existence, people will be ready to be introduced to “the truth” of the Bible, “the question of sin,” and ultimately Jesus. Proponents of intelligent design are no different than other creationists who want to preach a religious message to students.

Q. What about equal time?

A. Religious Right activists often argue that students would benefit from teachers giving equal time to learning about ideas other than evolution. They claim that the more young people learn about different ideas, the more educated they will be. The problem with this claim is that intelligent design is not just another idea or scientific theory. It is a religious teaching that has no place in public school science classes. When ID advocates ask for time in science classes, they are no different than other creationists who want to preach a religious message to students. In 1987 the Supreme Court issued a decision in Edwards v. Aguillard that struck down a Louisiana law that required public schools to offer “balanced treatment” between evolution and creationism. No federal court has ever upheld school-sponsored religious indoctrination.