Since the dawn of humanity, human beings have tried to explain their presence in the world. Where we come from, where we are going, how we became what we are or why we exist are some of the questions that are still being debated and questioned today. Religion, the firm and science have tried to formulate the answers, at times bringing about conflicts between the approaches of one and the other.

Within the attempts to explain reality from a religious point of view, we can find creationism as one of the most well known and currently controversial because of its total rejection of evolutionary theory.

Creationism: what is it?

Creationism is a set of different beliefs based on religious doctrine , whose main characteristic is the consideration that everything in the universe has been the work of God.

Although in principle any interpretation of reality that has this basis independently of religion itself is creationist, in general that tendency or current of thought based on Catholicism and the Bible is known as creationism .

Their opposition to biological evolution

The most classic creationism is also characterized by the fact that it maintains a literal interpretation of the Bible and of Genesis, denying the evolutionary theory . It considers that the beings that exist at present are those that have existed since the beginning of time, not accepting that they have an evolutionary origin and discarding the existing evidence in this respect or reinterpreting it (for example, fossils may be proof of the existence of the universal flood).

For those who hold this theory literally, the Earth would be no more than ten thousand years old. Despite the fact that the amount of evidence that contradicts this idea is overwhelming and belongs to different scientific fields (from geology to biology), among those who defend this vision of reality there are men and women with university and scientific training, not necessarily being members of the clergy or with little education.

The main principles of this version of creationism are the sudden creation of the whole universe and everything that exists from nothing, the consideration that evolution does not exist and although there may be changes in organisms they only occur within certain limits and without the animals and plants, which are those that existed from the beginning of creation, varying greatly.

It also considers that the living beings that exist today are those that have always existed, and the orography of the Earth is explained by the presence of catastrophes such as the universal deluge.

The Smart Design

The principles of creationist theory are not very evident and sustainable at the scientific level, which is why they should in principle have little acceptance within the academic world. However, later on a theory based on creationism has emerged that has tried to defend the creationist position with a language similar to that of science , proposing as a hypothesis: the theory of intelligent design.

In this case, it is proposed that the model that natural selection and evolution does not sufficiently explain the development and origin of living beings from a few organisms. It also proposes that the great biodiversity, the functioning of the universe and the natural laws make evident the existence of a creator who has designed them with a purpose. It considers that chance cannot explain the existence of reality and that its existence implies an elaborate plan designed by something or someone. However, this theory is not falsifiable, so it cannot be proven and therefore cannot be scientific.

Not all creationism is contrary to the theory of evolution

While it is true that perhaps the best known type of creationism is anti-evolutionary creationism precisely because of the controversy it provokes by denying the theory of evolution, the truth is that not all creationism is contrary to it.

In fact, there is a pro-evolution creationism that, although it considers that the universe has its origin in a creator , it accepts the existence of evolution and the scientific theories that surround it, without denying its value. This shows that religious doctrine does not have to be opposed or confronted with science but can be complementary.

An expanded vision in America

Many of you reading these lines will probably have heard at some point about the existence of a powerful conflict between evolutionary theory and creationism in America, (although from a scientific point of view there is no debate). The fact is that in the United States the creationist theory has great power and expansion , and for years it has been taught in schools in such a way that evolutionary theory was denied and not taught, under the name of intelligent design theory.

During 2004, however, the teaching of the theory of intelligent design in public schools was declared unconstitutional and prohibited, but this has not prevented this doctrine from continuing to exert great influence at the academic level. On the basis of this prohibition, the idea of critical analysis of evolution was generated, which today continues to have a notable influence and has even achieved the advocacy of favourable laws . From this modality in which it is not directly presented, the influence exercised by anti-evolutionary creationism has an effect generating doubts about evolution and other subjects such as abortion or cloning.

The conflict between the evolutionist and creationist perspectives has been a theme that can have considerable effects on society. However, on the other hand, it allows for a debate that can make both positions talk and discuss, revealing the defects and weaknesses that both can have.

Bibliographic references:

  • Collado, S. (2009). Overview of the creationism-evolutionism debate in the last hundred years in the USA. Anuario de Historia de la Iglesia XVIII, 41-53.