The creationism and evolution controversy continues almost unabated by the legal setbacks suffered both by the creation science and intelligent design movements. Although legal decisions have prevented de jure teaching of creationism, de facto teaching of creationism continues as teachers are reluctant to teach evolution without “balance”, and because recent creationist strategies attempting to avoid Establishment Clause constraints have not yet been tested in the courts.

This is a talk and a panel discussion at
CSICON
a conference sponsored by the
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry

According to a recent study, a majority of US biology teachers are reluctant to endorse evolution in their class and most have developed specific strategies to avoid running afoul of the controversy. Thirteen percent "explicitly advocate creationism or intelligent design by spending at least one hour of class time presenting it in a positive light" and only 28 percent teach evolution as recommended in the National Science Education Standards.

In the 2011 film, No Dinosaurs in Heaven, director and educator Greta Schiller weaves together the story of a science education professor who refuses to teach evolution with a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon that debunks major tenets of creation science.

Join us for a screening of No Dinosaurs in Heaven and an enlightening panel on the state of evolution in the science classroom with a panel of experts in the field including Eugenie Scott, PhD, Executive Director for the National Center for Science Education, Director Greta Schiller, and Science Education Professor Yael Wyner.

Dr. Eugenie Scott and Emmy Award-winning director Greta Schiller will host a question and answer session following the film.

"No Dinosaurs in Heaven" is a film essay that examines the hijacking of science education by religious fundamentalists, threatening the separation of church and state and dangerously undermining scientific literacy. The documentary weaves together two strands: an examination of the problem posed by creationists who earn science education degrees only to advocate anti-scientific beliefs in the classroom; and a visually stunning raft trip down the Grand Canyon, led by Dr. Eugenie Scott, that debunks creationist explanations for its formation. These two strands expose the fallacies in the "debate," manufactured by anti-science forces, that creationism is a valid scientific alternative to evolution.

This is a free event.
Sponsored by the
Queens College Biology Department
and the
Queens College Foundation

Both evolution and global warming are “controversial issues” in education, but are not controversial in the world of science. There is some overlap in personnel between the two issues, but far more people are climate change deniers than evolution deniers. What is interesting to skeptics, however, is the similarity in the techniques that are used by both camps to promote their views. The scientific issues are presented as “not being settled”, or that there is considerable debate among scientists over the validity of claims. Evolution and global warming opponents also demonize the opposition by accusing them of fraud or other wrong-doing. Denialists in both camps practice “anomaly mongering”, in which a small detail seemingly incompatible with either evolution or global warming is held up as dispositive of either evolution or climate science. Although in both cases, reputable, established science is under attack for ideological reasons, the underlying ideology differs: for creationism, the ideology of course is religious; for global warming, the ideology is predominantly political and/or economic.