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The term creationism describes beliefs that human beings, animals and plant species were created through supernatural means. Most creationists believe that no evolution took place at all; many others accept some kind of evolution but attribute it to divine intervention, as in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism; there have been a wide variety of creation myths, however (see cosmogony).

Due to imprecise and shifting use of the terms evolution and creationism it is difficult to say definitively whether "creationists" believe in "evolution" or not. Generally, creationism is seen as being in contradiction to the Darwinian theory of evolution accepted by science.

One version of creationism maintains that all major plant and animal species were created in a short time by God (six days, according to Genesis). Another allows that some evolution took place but that it was guided by God -- but, illustrating the imprecise and shifting use of the terms again, theistic evolutionists accept the mainstream scientific view of evolution while holding it to have been overseen, guided, and/or sustained by God.

Belief in creationism

According to a Gallup poll, 47% of Americans believe that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so, another 40% believe that God guided the development of human beings from less advanced forms of life over millions of years, and 9% believe that God played no part in the development of human beings. A recent poll by People for the American Way [1] used a different formulation of the question and showed lower support for creationism; another poll by Zogby conducted for the intelligent design thinktank Discovery Institute found higher support for creationism.

Despite the significant number of people subscribing to creationist views in the USA, such views are generally much less common in other Western countries. In Catholic-majority countries, papal acceptance of evolution has essentially ended debate on the matter for most people. The United States fundamentalist Christian community has no real parallels (in terms of numbers, prominence, and political influence) elsewhere in the Western world, and because most vocal creationists are from the United States, it is generally assumed that creationist views are not as common elsewhere. There is a Turkish creationist organization BAV, whose pseudonymous spokesman Harun Yahya puts an Islamic spin on familiar American creationism. There apparently are a number of Hindu creationists as well.

In 1987, Newsweek said: "By one count there are some 700 scientists with respectable academic credentials (out of a total of 480,000 U.S. earth and life scientists) who give credence to creation science...". Among scientists who work in the field, therefore, only about 0.14% hold the creationist view.

Scientific criticism of creationism

Creationism refers to more than just the belief that God created the universe; it refers to the belief that He created life (and in particular human life) in a supernatural way.

Current creationist thinking embraces natural selection and small changes in species, which is sometimes termed microevolution. Creationists do not, however, agree that the major divisions of life were derived through the same process (macroevolution). Typically, they do not believe that all life is derived from a single-celled ancestor, that mammals are descendents of reptiles, or that man and apes descended from common ancestors. A common creationist argument is that examples of evolution are examples solely of microevolution.

Creationism is often considered an expression of religious literalism. Literal-minded creationists oppose evolution on the grounds that it conflicts with the account of creation given in Genesis, where it is recorded that the Earth was created by God in six days. Based on various interpretations of the Genesis accounts, "Young Earth" creationists believe that the account given is of the creation of the Earth, while "Old Earth" creationists believe it only refers to the creation of life on a pre-existing Earth. (Actually, the distinction between YECs and OECs is just as to the age of the earth; OECs divide among themselves about how to interpret Genesis 1, with such competitors as Day-Age theory and Gap theory and Ruin theory vying for supremacy.)

Other Christians hold that these passages are not to be interpreted literally, but are rather a symbolic or poetic account of the creation of the universe. Some believe that they are based on the prevailing scientific ideas of the time they were written, and that only the moral and religious, as opposed to the scientific, content of the Bible is inspired.

Some, in an attempt to harmonize science with biblical literalism, hold that the six days referred to are not ordinary 24-hour days, but rather much longer periods (of thousands or millions of years); the Genesis account is then interpreted as an account of the process of evolution. There are even some Christians who believe the six day period refers to the time spent by light traveling from the center of the universe at the time and point of creation.

Young Earth creationists who interpret the Bible literally believe that the Earth is somewhere around 6,000 years old (according to Bishop Ussher's dating) and also reject the Big Bang theory (which is related to creation of the universe). In doing so, they refer to a relatively small number of scientific findings that do appear to contradict an old Earth and therefore evolution itself, but reject the much larger set of scientific findings which support both a very old Earth and evolution.

Creationists put forth their views mainly on religious grounds, but with the rise of scientific creationism (or Intelligent Design) defend them on scientific grounds as well. They argue that the scientific evidence does not support evolution, and that creation of each species of life by God provides a better scientific explanation. They may also posit theories such as the Omphalos theory of Philip Henry Gosse to explain why evidence apparently supporting evolution may not be reliable. Biologists are virtually unanimous in rejecting this view as unscientific and often object to the term "scientific creationism" for that reason.

Philosophical aspects

The debate on creationism entails a debate on what constitutes scientific evidence, and what kinds of facts are acceptable as proof. Most scientists do not accept the creationists' evaluation of the evidence, and reject creation by God as being a valid scientific hypothesis, arguing that it is not falsifiable. Various specific details -- e.g., the age of the earth's being on the order of 10000 years -- are falsifiable, and, indeed, false.

General acceptance of the Theory of Evolution poses a major threat to the well-being of those Christian groups which are both literalist and creationist. Such groups require that the first humans be known to be created by God in His image, perfect, and that humans did not in any way originate from other animals. The stories of the fall of humankind from that divinely-created state of grace, the sacrificial crucifixion, the resurrection and imminent return of the Messiah, all rely for their power on acceptance, by faith, of literal creationism, and an outright rejection of evolution.

The term creationism can also refer to the belief that each soul is created individually by God, as opposed to traducianism, which holds that the souls of infants are derived from those of their parents. Another theory of the soul is known as Pre-existence.

External links:

The Belief Spectrum: Who Believes What?

The Talk.Origins Archive - Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy

National Center for Science Education -- defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools

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 According to a [[Evolution Poll|Gallup poll]], 47% of Americans believe that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so, another 40% believe that God guided the development of human beings from less advanced forms of life over millions of years, and 9% believe that God played no part in the development of human beings. A recent poll by People for the American Way [http://www.pfaw.org/news/press/2000-03-10.170.html] used a different formulation of the question and showed lower support for creationism; another poll by Zogby conducted for the [[intelligent design]] thinktank [[Discovery Institute]] found higher support for creationism.
-Despite the significant number of people subscribing to creationist views in the [[USA]], such views are generally much less common in other Western countries. In Catholic-majority countries, papal acceptance of evolution has essentially ended debate on the matter for most people. The United States fundamentalist Christian community has no real parallels (in terms of numbers, prominence, and political influence) elsewhere in the Western world, and because most vocal creationists are from the United States, it is generally assumed that creationist views are not as common elsewhere.  There is a Turkish creationist organization BAV, whose pseudonymous spokesman Harun Yahya puts an Islamic spin on familiar American creationism.
+Despite the significant number of people subscribing to creationist views in the [[USA]], such views are generally much less common in other Western countries. In Catholic-majority countries, papal acceptance of evolution has essentially ended debate on the matter for most people. The United States fundamentalist Christian community has no real parallels (in terms of numbers, prominence, and political influence) elsewhere in the Western world, and because most vocal creationists are from the United States, it is generally assumed that creationist views are not as common elsewhere.  There is a Turkish creationist organization BAV, whose pseudonymous spokesman Harun Yahya puts an Islamic spin on familiar American creationism. There apparently are a number of Hindu creationists as well.
 In [[1987]], [[Newsweek]] said: "By one count there are some 700 scientists with respectable academic credentials (out of a total of 480,000 U.S. earth and life scientists) who give credence to creation science...". Among scientists who work in the field, therefore, only about 0.14% hold the creationist view.