Creationism

Creationism refers to various religious beliefs that reject evolution. It may be associated with other religious beliefs disputing science, such as by arguing for a very young universe ("Young Earth creationism"). It is often based on claimed literal interpretations of religious texts, in particular their creation narratives. Creationism is actively promoted mainly by some Christian groups insisting on a claimed literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative, but creationist beliefs are common worldwide.

Creationists may attempt to argue that the scientific evidence actually supports creationist views. One example is the "intelligent design" argument, according to which some aspects of life must have been designed by an intelligent being, instead of occurring through evolution. However, the level of support for evolution is extremely high within the scientific community and such claims are rejected as pseudoscience.

The "Wedge Document" is a publication of the creationist Discovery Institute, which has been seen as an important outline of intended creationist promotion. A less often mentioned aspect of this is that the introduction attacks not just evolutionary theory, but also much more generally "materialism and its cultural legacies" and not just Darwin but also Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud and their influences on modern society. This could be interpreted as a partly misdirected criticism of Cultural Marxism and its effect on modern society.

See also

• Genetics denialism