Questions about our origins as a species have been plaguing us as humans, prodding us as scientists and dividing us as Americans for more than a hundred years, if not for all time. Gallup polls show that nearly half of Americans believe God created man 10,000 years ago, as the Bible says, and another third believe man evolved, but God had a hand in it. At the same time, only a third of the American public believe Darwin's theory of evolution is supported by evidence. Yet nearly all scientists and science teachers do believe in the evolutionary process. So when it comes to how we teach this topic in public schools, the controversy gets even more heated.

Dover, PA

It's a windy November afternoon in the parking lot of the brand new Giant supermarket in Dover, Pennsylvania where locals are simply trying get on with their daily lives, loading groceries into their cars. And the press is after them, again.

"We're tired of hearing about it," says one local. "It's kind of like we're a national joke. I think it's time to put it to rest. We have all lost our sense of proportion in allowing this topic to overwhelm everything else."

Intelligent Design in the Classroom

How should we teach evolution in our schools? For some, the question is better phrased, should we teach evolution? Should we teach the controversy over Darwinian evolution? Nearly all biologists regard evolution as a settled matter. There's no argument in science journals about whether living things had common ancestors. Yet despite the consensuses, intelligent design has spread into the classroom.

The Evolution of Science

In November 2005, Kansas became the fifth state to change its science standards to include "other explanations" for the origins of life on earth.

The Kansas Board of Education took a new tack: to change the definition of science so that it's not restricted to natural explanations, but leaves room for supernatural causes.

Download the documentary or read the transcript.


The Harmony between Science and Religion - interview with Ted Peters, professor of theology, Pacific Lutheran Seminary


IDEA Groups on College Campuses - interview with Casey Luskin, co-founder, IDEA groups


Mary Beth Kirchner on the surprising home of ID


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