Is the creation-evolution controversy a debate between religion and science over the same territory? Many on both sides have said that it is. But others have denied this, arguing that "creation" and "evolution" are not comparable, mutually exclusive alternatives that serve the same purpose. In this light, the notion that there is a significant intellectual debate called "the creation-evolution controversy" appears to be a fiction created by "scientific" creationists to serve their purpose of promoting fundamentalist ideas in the public schools and elsewhere.
But one can never forget that some religions make their ethical doctrines dependent upon their conclusions about nature and thus for them a conflict between religion and science exists. Galileo came face-to-face with this in his day and stands as a symbol of such controversies. In our time, educators have to deal with it in the courts.
In this issue, three articles explore the problem directly and indirectly. Joseph E. Laferriere discusses religion and the "folk science" that religions develop and compares both to modern science. William H. Jeffreys analyzes a particular Bible-based historical chronology, demonstrating that religions are also capable of producing a "folk history" that is equally out of step with modern scholarship. And Ronnie J. Hastings brings us up to date on the ongoing saga of creationists who seek, even after their recent retractions, to demonstrate that both the Bible and the Glen Rose limestone provide evidence of recent human and dinosaur coexistence.