Creationism has evolved in response to changing times and legal setbacks, morphing into a myriad of allegedly-secular fronts, and broadening into larger attacks on the legitimacy of science itself.

Newton traces the development of creationism, from the time of the Scopes trial, to “scientific creationism,” and the attempts to use science to support a literal reading of Genesis. The rise of “intelligent design” creationism will be examined, including how early statements by its proponents conflict with their later claims of ID as a strictly secular movement.

Although the 2005 Dover trial might have seemed a death-blow to intelligent design, this talk explains how creationists have reorganized in a mosaic of anti-evolution strategies, such as “academic freedom” bills, one of which passed in Louisiana in 2008. In addition to Louisiana, Texas became a major anti-evolution battle ground during the 2009 revision of its science standards. The language of the Texas revisions and “academic freedom” bills reflect an expansion by creationists into other scientific areas, such as the denial of global warming. The rejection of evolution has evolved into a rejection of science itself.