Darwin Denied; July 1995; Scientific American Magazine; by Beardsley; 2 Page(s)

Antievolutionists are using a new weapon in their fight to bring the supernatural into science curriculums. The U.S. Supreme Court held eight years ago that compelling public schools to teach "creation science, " a doctrine that argues that science supports special creation, was unconstitutional. But opponents of Darwinian evolution are currently pushing "intelligent design," a theistic formula that posits an unnamed intelligent force to explain the diversity of life.

Volume orders of a glossy textbook promoting this thesis, Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins, by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, have been shipped to public schools in more than 12 states, according to the book's copyright holder, the Foundation for Thought and Ethics in Richardson, Tex. Director Jon A. Buell says the organization has sold 19,000 copies. The text informs students that evolutionary theory is incompatible with life's complexity, which "owes its origin to a master intellect"; it fails to mention that almost all biologists conclude that evolution is the only plausible scientific explanation of life. Buell has written to supporters asking for prayers and inviting readers to become part of a "quiet army" opposing the "metaphysical naturalism " of other textbooks.