The Creation Controversy

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In 1999, the Kansas Board of Education voted to delete all mention of evolution from the state's recommended science curriculum and also from its educational assessment tests. This decision, and similar decisions in other states, suggest the growing influence of creationists on American educational policies -- particularly in science curriculums.In this science-dominated age, how have religious fundamentalists gained such a pervasive influence? The Creation Controversy asks how a group of religious fundamentalists defining themselves as scientists could challenge the basic assumptions of contemporary biology. Dorothy Nelkin looks at the history of this social movement, and its cast of characters. She examines the meaning of religion to a secular science public, as well as raising questions about how much trust we put in science and the moral implications of the current day creationist movement.