Evolution and Intelligent Design
... same curriculum. The evidence that Darwin had gathered, which conflicted with the prevailing creationistic views of the time, convinced scientists of his day that evolution by natural selection better explained the origin and proliferation of life. Because the scientific and religious communities seem to have always been at odds with one another and have enjoyed sometimes heated debates on the origins of life, Darwinfs weight of scientific evidence did little to bring the two communities closer together. More recently, however, the two sides seem to have found a way to come to terms with one anotherfs opposing views through the theory of intelligent design. Intelligent design, unlike creationism, purports divine intervention while boasting scientific evidence as well. Just as Darwinianfs admit flaws in the theory of evolution and that the intervention of a cosmic designer would explain the large gaps between species that supposedly evolved through the evolutionary process of natural selection, proponents of intelligent design accept, to a minimal degree, that, in fact, some species may have evolved and that the earth is older than 6,000 years. The overlap makes possible, for the theories of evolution and intelligent design, a cozy coexistence and allows for both theories to be taught in a classroom setting. To further support this overlap and thus, the coexistence of the controversial evolution and ID theories under the same roof, Zelizer (2005) offers the following: In both, life emanates from the sea. In both, the composition of human beings shares much with the dust of the Earth. In both, the end result is a human species capable of contemplating its own life and death and making moral choices. In both, creation of forms also results from a process and not exclusively from a sudden event. (p. 3) Because gthe gaps between the theories of evolution and intelligent design overwhelm any overlap,h as Zelizer (2005, p. 3) points out, the two theories should not be introduced together in the same class. As Zelizer (2005) further explains, Evolution makes specific propositions that are testable, provable and disprovable through a measurable and observable process that takes place in nature. That categorizes it as science. Intelligent design, on the other hand, cannot be proved or disproved by natural evidence because its design is supernatural. That categorizes it as religion. (p. 3) In view of the fact that the two theories can be classified into clearly defined subject groups, they can be taught under the same roof under their respective subject headings. Moreover, if one theory is going to be taught in school, the other(s) should be taught, as well. As Brown (2005) succinctly puts it, gif [educators] are going to mention one theory, then [they] have to mention them allcin a class on comparative world religions at the high school levelh (p. 11). Listed in the proper curricul...