Public Policy and Press

It is not altogether surprising that public policy and the press are generally hostile to Intelligent Design (ID), given that the scientific consensus is far from sympathetic. Nevertheless, a free press should be open to airing views which challenge the reigning paradigm and public policy should respect this.

However, there is the occasional encouraging article, such as a recent review in the Spectator of Michael Denton’s new book ‘Evolution – Still a Theory in Crisis’, hailed by a reviewer as a Best Book of 2016 for its scientific demolition of Darwinism. Some years ago, the Guardian carried a feature article by Alastair Noble which advocated discussion of ID in school science.

Public Policy is also a demanding area. For example, the Department of Education in England sent guidance to schools advising that any theory which challenged evolution should not be permitted in science lessons. Such unreasonable and unscientific positions need to be challenged both in the interest of freedom of speech and also of teaching genuine scientific method.

This section, therefore, carries articles about public policy positions adopted by Government and other agencies associated with science, as well as aspects of press coverage of ID. Of particular interest is a response by C4ID to a petition from the Scottish Secular Society to the Scottish Parliament to ban discussion of ID (erroneously described as ‘creationism’). This response outlines in some detail the case for ID and the public policy issues it raises.