Search any topic on the Internet and you are bound to find a billion or maybe a trillion websites, movies, and videos on the deeply entrenched debate on creationism. I refuse to write upon the subject beyond this essay. It is not because I think that it is unimportant, or how it erodes the educational system. (Which it does.) It is because I don’t think I will have any influence on the discussion.

Creationism is the antithesis of scientific curiosity.

It adheres to the notion that religious doctrine is reality. If it is written in a religious text, then it is so. And how can one have a rational argument with that. So I ignore creationism, and surprisingly it rarely affects me. I teach at a university about evolution on a daily basis. I teach enlighten students, students who are curious and deeply interested about the world we live in. Curiosity drives students to attend college, so creationism never enters the classroom. Sometimes I suspect that my students hold certain beliefs, but never have they voiced them. I stick to the facts, present the evidence, and remarkably they are driven by curiosity. How does evolution really work? How can we tell it works? What evidence is there in the fossil record? They love learning, and I am happy to aid in their education.

Creationism is a religious belief held strongly by a minority of people from a wide variety of different religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Hindu, and some North American Native religions. In fact most ethnic groups have their own creation story, but how hard-fast the local population adheres to those beliefs has more to do with social and economical mobility and access to quality education. I enjoy learning about creation stories, as these stories enrich our own cultural identities.

I will not engage in debates on creationism, in part because I understand that it is not rational thought that drives an individual to believe in a particular creation story, but the circumstances of their life. If you grew up within a particular religious sect that clings to a creation story as factual, everyone that you know believes in this notion: your parents, you siblings, your grandparents, elders in the church. It would be hard to come away from that without having irrational beliefs in the world. This I understand, and so the best solution is to be supportive of any individual in that situation rather than focus on evidence and engage in a factual debate. Other people maybe drawn into extreme religious thought through finding safety or companionship within a particular religious belief. They likely view alternate views as threats to this safety, and again will not be open to rational thought.

The remedy of creationism is curiosity. Curiosity is what drove me to accept evolution as fact. I actively sought to learn more by reading books on the subject, starting with Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, but quickly moving on to Theodosius Dobzhansy’s Genetics and the Origin of Species, Ernst Mayr’s Systematics and the Origin of Species and many many other works, and I read biology books, as well as evolution college textbooks. Also, I was lucky to learn about this marvelously wonderful topic with many excellent teachers, who all gave me a great deal of satisfaction in knowing a great deal about the world we live in. Of course, new discoveries will likely alter what we know, and I find that too… undeniably amazing. Science is ever changing. And no book can hold all its knowledge.

Creationism is not completely benign. There is a dark side to creationism driven by power and greed, in particular those organizations that work to undermine science education. These organizations are driven more through disinformation campaigns, and utilize people’s beliefs to capitalize on either monetary or political gain. These individuals are actively using people’s belief system for profit. These organizations are funded in part by corporations and religious institutions that seek to disenfranchise or marginalize science education to prevent gainful knowledge among the population. Seeking to actively silence any critics or skepticism to democratic inquiry. This is the realm of climate deniers, 9/11 conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccinators, historical revisionists and the like. Refuting very strong evidence to the contrary of their strident views. It is these organizations that I will actively debate, and work hard to defend scientific inquiry and the freedoms of rational thought and debate. I want there to be access to knowledge for every member of my country. An open flow of knowledge is what defines the United States of America, as well as the clear separation of religious thought and government. We are all free to believe what we want, but we are not free to impose those beliefs on others. Science is knowledge and requires no faith. It only requires curiosity. And I hope that you will have curiosity to learn more about evolution no matter what your beliefs are.

If you suspect that your or your children’s rights for free inquiry in public education are being infringed, you might check out the National Center Science and Education website, for guidance on what defines and separates religious and scientific thought in the classroom.