Introduction

Creationism is coming to a campus near you.

Parents, educators, scientists, clergy, and other citizens are concerned about scientifically inaccurate exhibits at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, operated by Answers in Genesis, a fundamentalist Christian ministry.

The statement below has been prepared by and for scientists in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. Please feel free to sign if you are a scientist (faculty or post-doctoral level) from these states. And please circulate this statement among your colleagues.

INTRODUCTION

Recent research has shown strong support for science among the public in the US (National Science Board 2006). At the same time, this research shows that this same public is generally not well-informed about scientific issues (National Science Board 2006). In fact, the NSB report concludes that “the public’s lack of knowledge about basic scientific facts and the scientific process can have far reaching implications” (National Science Board 2006). This problem is not limited to adults, as tests of scientific literacy rate US students below the level of their counterparts in many other countries (National Science Board 2006). In particular, understanding of evolutionary biology is especially poor among Americans (Miller and others 2006), and it seems to be an issue from grade school (Michigan House Civics Commission 2006) to college (Holden 2006a). While this issue exists in other countries, the United States is the arguably the developed nation where the problem is most severe (Lazcano 2005; Miller and others 2006). Clearly, public perception of evolutionary biology is out of line with the actual state of science, and efforts to correct this should be a high priority.