Countering creationism

Sign our e-petitions
The government has recently launched an e-petition website. So far the BHA has created two e-petitions, one of which calls for teaching evolution, not creationism. We need over 100,000 signatures on each for the chance of them being discussed in parliament. Take Action Now!

Teaching of evolution
The new government has announced that it will ensure ‘all schools have greater freedom over the curriculum’. We are concerned that this will mean that there will be less evolution taught in schools and a greater risk that some schools, particularly ‘faith schools’ may try to introduce creationism into the science classroom. Take Action Now!

The British Humanist Association has been at the forefront of challenging and bringing to public attention the growing threat to education from creationism, and promoting the teaching of evolution in schools.

After five years of campaigning by the BHA and others, in September 2007, the Labour Government published its ‘Guidance on the place of creationism and intelligent design in science lessons’, in which it is made clear that creationism and intelligent design are not scientific theories, and so cannot be taught in science lessons, as they have "no underlying scientific principles, or explanations, and are not accepted by the scientific community as a whole". However attempts to discredit a wide variety of established scientific facts, and promote creationist and creationist inspired ideas in their place, continues.

In addition to campaigning against creationism, the BHA also lobbies for more teaching about evolution in the national curriculum - both in more depth and from an earlier age. In July 2009 the BHA organised a letter from twenty-six of the UK’s top scientists and science educators that called on the Government to make vital changes to the new science curriculum proposed for primary schools in England. Teaching of evolution in primary schools was subsequently included in the Children, Schools and Families Bill, however was later dropped as the Bill was not passed until the wash-up period at the very end of Brown's tenure as Prime Minister.

In June 2010, the BHA coordinated a letter from top scientists and educators to the Conservative Education Secretary, urging him to protect and promote science in the school curriculum, with the specific inclusion of the teaching of evolution in the primary curriculum. The Department for Education's reply stated that creationism and intelligent design do not form part of the national curriculum for science and therefore should not be taught. However, the response lacks assurances that schools would be required to teach about evolution in science. Moreover, new 'free schools' and academies do not have to teach the national curriculum, so the scant assurances from the government that religious myths have no place in the science curriculum will not even apply to potentially thousands of schools.

In August 2011, the BHA launched an e-petition on the Government e-petitions website called 'Teach evolution, not creationism!', which calls on the Government to make statutory and enforceable the current, non-statutory, guidance that creationism and ‘intelligent design’ should not be taught in school science, while at the same time calling for the teaching of evolution to be included at both primary and secondary levels in the National Curriculum and in all schools. In September, the BHA came together with others to launch a new campaign website, 'Teach evolution, not creationism', which makes similar requests. The statement, coordinated by the BHA, was also supported by the Association for Science Education, British Science Association, Campaign for Science & Engineering and leading theological think tank Ekklesia; and by thirty leading scientists including three Nobel laureates; naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough; neurobiologist Professor Colin Blakemore; evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins; President of the Royal Society Sir Paul Nurse; and science education expert Revd Professor Michael Reiss.

What are we doing?

In 2002 the BHA received complaints about creationist activities at the Vardy Foundation academy Emmanuel College in Gateshead, which presented the theory of evolution as “a matter of faith”. To view the kind of science teachers at the Vardy Foundation academy believed and taught, see the Emmanuel view of Science education and the “Christian Curriculum”.

In March 2002 the BHA organised a letter from 43 scientists and philosophers to the Prime Minister and relevant Government departments, expressing concern about this development and asking for improved guidance on Science teaching. The BHA also wrote a similar letter to relevant Government departments and BHA supporter Alice Mahon MP’s Early Day Motion on the teaching of creationism in schools attracted the support of nearly 50 signatures. When Parliamentary Humanist Group member Jenny Tonge MP asked the Prime Minister whether he was "happy to allow the teaching of creationism alongside Darwin's theory of evolution in state schools (on 13/3/02), Tony Blair replied that he was happy and that "it would be unfortunate if concerns about that issue were seen to remove the very strong incentive to ensure we get as diverse a school system as we properly can..." (Hansard, 13 Mar 2002, Column 886-7).

By Autumn 2004 the Vardy Foundation (now the Emmanuel School Foundation) controlled three schools in the North East – in Gateshead, Middlesbrough and Doncaster – and was negotiating for a fourth, in Conisborough near Doncaster.  The BHA briefed MPs and peers again with a briefing on creationist academies in June 2004. In addition, the BHA Vice-President Richard Dawkins and the Bishop of Oxford wrote about creationism in schools.  In October 2004 local campaigners in Conisbrough, near Doncaster, persuaded their LEA to reject a proposed school takeover by the Emmanuel Schools Foundation - a triumph for local campaigning and democracy. Read about the CADPAG campaign, and a sympathetic account of it in The Guardian. In February 2006, the DfES minister Jacqui Smith MP answered a parliamentary question tabled by Keith Vaz MP in a way that indicated the government believed creationism could be taught within the national curriculum for science. Read her answer here. The BHA wrote to Ms Smith, copied to Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Minister Lord Adonis - you can read about our letter here and her reply here.

In March 2006 much press attention was given to the apparent inclusion of creationism in a GCSE 'Gateway Science' specification produced by the OCR examinations board. OCR issued a reassuring statement, but we wrote to them to seek further assurances.

In April 2006, the Royal society issued a statement on the teaching of creationism, but in September 2006 the creationist organisation ‘Truth in Science ’ launched a new website encouraging teachers to incorporate ‘Intelligent Design’ into their science teaching and mailed free resources to all Secondary Heads of Science. The BHA denounced the new site and then, with the Christian think-tank Ekklesia, wrote to the DfES about its concerns over this attempt to smuggle creationism into school science and calling on the government to take action.  You may also wish to read the press release accompanying this letter.

We received a reply that the government were now willing to take action and in September 2007 the ‘Guidance on the place of creationism and intelligent design in science lessons’ was finally published.

In the summer of 2009 we visited Noah’s Ark Farm Zoo in North Somerset after receiving reports that it put forward a range of pseudoscientific beliefs that complimented the proprietor’s religious beliefs. The zoo sought to undermine a wide variety of established science, including radio carbon dating, the fossil record and a wide assortment of accepted zoology. We wrote to a range of bodies urging them to use their influence to bring the practices of Noah’s Ark Farm Zoo into line with various education regulations that the zoo was bound by. In December 2009 Noah’s Ark Farm Zoo was expelled from the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums in December 2009 due to ‘a breakdown of trust’. It had previously had membership to the European Association of Zoo and Aquaria rejected.

In September 2009 the BHA wrote to Government and the National Academic Recognition Information Centre (Naric) after the agency ruled that the International Certificate of Christian Education (ICCE) was comparable to international O-levels and A-levels offered by the Cambridge International exam board. The ICCE is based on the self-defined Christian fundamentalist Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) programme, which assumes that the Bible is the literal word of God and teaches claims that advance creationism, such as the existence of the Loch Ness monster disproving evolution. Naric originally defended its actions stating that investigating the curriculum content of the qualifications it assessed was outside of the organisation’s remit. However, the agency is now reviewing all of the qualifications offered by ICCE.

‘Truth in Science’ has continued to promote creationist ideas in science and in December 2009 posted copies of the book ‘Explore Evolution: The Arguments for and against Neo-Darwinism’ to school librarians around the country. The book undermines the theory of evolution and seeks to have creationist-inspired ideas implanted as credible scientific viewpoints. The BHA wrote to the Government urging that it take action to prevent its guidance on the place of creationism and intelligent design in science lessons from being undermined.

What can you do?

Tell the BHA if you are concerned that creationism or intelligent design is being taught in your local school.

Write to your MP, urging her/him to resist any attempts to have creationism or intelligent design taught as science in schools and to push for the teaching of evolution to be improved.

You can support the BHA by becoming a member. That helps in itself, and you can help even more by supporting our campaigns in the ways suggested above. But campaigns also cost money – quite a lot of money – and we also need financial support. You can make a donation to the BHA.