"Evolutionism" and Atheism
Creationist propaganda frequently uses the word "evolutionist". Here is Google's definition of "evolutionist".
noun
- 1.a person who believes in the theories of evolution and natural selection.
Virtually nobody "believes" in the theories of evolution and natural selection in the same sense that people have religious beliefs. They accept that it is the natural conclusion to be arrived at by applying reasoning to the evidence. (It is also handy not to start out with any preconceptions or presuppositions.) As such, it is not a belief by faith system at all.
You cannot project religious or pseudo-religious beliefs onto science. The attempts to do so betray a profound ignorance of the nature of scientific thought and knowledge.
One wonders why creationists persist in trying to claim that that acceptance of science is a belief system, and equates to atheism. Do they not profess a belief system themselves? A system of notions, based on a desire to believe, despite the evidence, despite reason? Are they trying to claim that this is a bad thing, that "evolutionism" is a bad thing because it is devoid of evidence and reason just like their own beliefs?
Of course, the truth behind this is the separation of church and state, which means that in public schools in America, it is unconstitutional to misrepresent pseudo-religious beliefs as fact. It's a "We are not allowed to do it, so they shouldn't be allowed either" argument. It fails, because, basically, evolution is an established fact.
You cannot project religious or pseudo-religious beliefs onto science. The attempts to do so betray a profound ignorance of the nature of scientific thought and knowledge.
One wonders why creationists persist in trying to claim that that acceptance of science is a belief system, and equates to atheism. Do they not profess a belief system themselves? A system of notions, based on a desire to believe, despite the evidence, despite reason? Are they trying to claim that this is a bad thing, that "evolutionism" is a bad thing because it is devoid of evidence and reason just like their own beliefs?
Of course, the truth behind this is the separation of church and state, which means that in public schools in America, it is unconstitutional to misrepresent pseudo-religious beliefs as fact. It's a "We are not allowed to do it, so they shouldn't be allowed either" argument. It fails, because, basically, evolution is an established fact.
Another common propagandist lie is, of course, the conflation of science with atheism. Most atheists accept science, just as large numbers of Christians, Muslims and Jews also accept it simply because they have no crazy reasons not to.
Science falsifies creationist claims about the natural world (a young earth, no evolution, a global flood etc.). This does not mean that it is atheistic. It just means that it rejects the false gods of creationism.
Christianity
The dishonesty of the "Christian" creationist position is also evident in the fact that in Islam and Judaism there are also almost identical science-denying factions. Science denial is not an exclusively "Christian" phenomenon and is not a necessary aspect of any of these faiths.
The attempt by creationists to hide behind the robes of such venerable faith systems is not an edifying prospect. It does their cause no good whatsoever.
Not bad I agree with most of what you said. You might want to change the lead article heading to either Evolution or Evolutionist instead of Evolutionism (or even science).
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