Evolution and Intelligent Design

New York, February 1, 2006—The debate between proponents of the intelligent design theory and those of the theory of evolution has been especially heated in the last several months. Conflict over the matter has divided parents, teachers, students, politicians, and school boards across the country, most notably in Pennsylvania, Kansas, Georgia, and California.

In an online poll that ran from November 28, 2005, through January 5, 2006, visitors to TeachersCount.org answered the question, “Should intelligent design, the theory of evolution, or both be taught in public schools?” In total, the poll had 397 respondents, 265 of whom described themselves as educators.

Of all respondents, 40.8% said only the theory of evolution should be taught, while 9.6% said that only intelligent design should be taught. 45.3% of poll respondents thought both theories should be taught in public schools.

The difference in responses from educators and non-educators was noticeable but not vast. The two groups differed mainly in that a nearly equal number of educators (around 43%) said “both” and “only evolution,” whereas, among non-educators, only 36.4% said that only evolution should be taught and 50.8% said both should be taught. Among both groups, “intelligent design only” was chosen about 10% of the time.

The poll invited respondents to comment, and many of them did. Below is a sampling of comments arranged by answer:

“Intelligent design only”

• “The majority of people believe in God!”

“Theory of evolution only”

• “Evolution is based on years of scientific research and documented facts. Alternatives to evolution should present the same kind of evidence to make it worthy of inclusion in today’s science curriculum.”
• “It is irresponsible to pretend, merely to push a social agenda, that there is a controversy over evolution's legitimacy among the scientific community.”
• “Intelligent design is not a theory...there is no proof! If it must be brought up at all then its place is in social studies, NOT science!”
• “Evolution should be taught with a 1-3 minute disclaimer read at the beginning of the unit mentioning the idea of intelligent design. Intelligent design is not a scientific theory and should not be taught as such.”

“Both”

• “We want to teach our children to think for themselves. How can we do that if we teach evolution as fact and not as one of the many theories that have been put forth?”
• “Teachers should not mold opinions for students, but provide them with information to allow them to form their own educated opinions."
• “I am a Christian educator who believes wholeheartedly in intelligent design. However, we do a disservice to students ANYTIME we teach from only one perspective.”