Creation Controversy | How students answered the survey | Take the survey

Survey Comments

What students wrote in the optional comments section of the survey:

“God created everything. Period. No debate.”

“I wouldn't say religion and science agree with eachother, but for the truly faithful they fit hand in hand.”

“How about a 'neither' option for question 5, I think that could be interesting.”

“Religion is not a science. Science is not a religion. I wish people would stop trying to blur those lines.”

“Intelligent design should only be taught in schools if also other religions creation stories are shared along side it.”

“This survey is tragically flawed by the fact that the radio buttons have one pre-checked for every question. The all need to be unchecked! Furthermore, "QUESTION 2: Which most accurately reflects your view?" doesn't have enough choices. You don't have a response which accurately captures my view.”

“A survey shouldn't have answers selected by default. Seems there ought to be a question on micro/macro evolution. Can't hardly answer #2 & #3 without defining evolution :)”

“A few flaws in your survey! #2 - my answer would be "humans evolved, God did not guide the process, God did create the process" (big distinction between guiding a process and creating the process) #5 - Only evolution should be taught in a science classroom. I.D. could be taught in other classes such as world religion, logic, etc. JUST NOT IN A SCIENCE CLASSROOM also, the first answer was already clicked on each question (that could skew your results."

“I a graduate, of Asia culture. I believe in Bible and the teachings in it.”

“Interesting survey.”

“I believe that God created evolution. It seems silly to think that God couldn't be behind something so beautifully complicated.”

“In regards to question #6, religion and science are tied together. I believe that there is an omnipotent god who got everything started, but then everything was allowed to evolve/become extinct at its own pace. Basically God said 'bang!' and it all began. Too bad some people cannot reconcile their faith with truth.”

“I am a junior biology major, and here is my thought: God and evolution do not inherently go against each other. We see evolution occurring everywhere, and it is well documented, but it is at the micro level, not the macro level. From my experience and education, I think that the vast complexity of even one cell would suggest a designer and God. However, Intelligent Design at the moment is not hard and fast science in the way that scientists describe science (experiments, reseach publishings in journals), so it might not have a place in the science classroom. But, the theory of macroevolution as hard and true fact does not have a place either. I think God gave us minds and reason to explore and investigate, and one of those applications is science, in order to discover God in a different way.”

“While I believe that evolution was guided by God, I do not believe that it is the school's place to teach that. Schools should be responsible for teaching evolution, which is backed by scientific evidence, and church should be responsible for teaching the rest.”

“I don't understand why people say, "evolution is not true," when our scientist have the evidence right in front of them.”

“I am a graduate student as well as a full-time employee of TCU. I couldn't answer some of the questions because there was another option I believed to be true, such as I know lots of scientists who are religious, so I would say religion and science can work together, but they don't always agree and don't always conflict. My answers to No. 2 and No. 3 appear to be contradictory, but I believe God created the world and everything in it, but I don't know exactly how He did it - I believe He could have done it in seven days exactly as the Bible reads, or He could have taken longer - a day for Him might not be a day for us, so it could have been an evolutionary process. Bottom line is: I believe God is all-powerful and behind all creation, however it occurred.”

“Evolution based on fact, Intelligent Design based on faith. Cannot teach faith in classroom.”

“I don't believe in God at all...so I might not be the best opinion.”

“I believe all things started with creation, but it is possible evolution does exist in some creatures. I believe that humans are basically the same as when created.”

“It is a very interesting debate. I have tried to educate myself on both intelligent design and evolution. I do believe in evolution, but I think that it could possibly be guided. I have not really come to a clear cut decision for myself because I am constantly hearing evidence for both sides, and I have my own beliefs to content with. Maybe an higher power or God put the evolution proccess into place, or maybe evolution is just nature's way of shaping itself without anything or being helping it along? Even though I do not have a final belief or understanding yet, I do have an opinion.”

“Religion is about beliefs that cannont be proved. It's about having faith that there is something outside our understanding that cannot be explained by science. While I'm sure it is hard to teach Intelligent Design, I believe it would be good to point out that there are options besides evolution.”

“On question #5 about which one should be taught in schools, neither should be taught in schools. God did create humans as described in the Bible.”

“I do not think the survey is thorough enough. Most of my answers reflect only the best option made available to me rather than what I actually think. For example, question number 6 asks my opinion of the relation between religion and science. What kind of science? Natural sciences? Social sciences? Clarification either way would impact my answer. There is also lacking an optional answer to the question that puts science (again, what kind of science?) and religion in partial agreement - a position that to the best of my knowledge as a graduate student in religion (with an undergraduate degree in religion as well) is held by many people. There are many other flaws as well, but I don't have time. If you are going to offer surveys on controversial topics of which the results will be published for the student body (or anyone, for that), please be sure in the future to make them better.”

“I think that evolution is the academic and true form of human development; however, every human needs something superior to believe in...so God (and its form of evolution) comes into play at a religious level, filling that need for a greater power, but evolution is the reasoning for human development.”

“I feel very strongly that intelligent design is nothing more than pseudo-science invented by Creationist who want try to (unsuccessfully) refute evolution. It is possible to have faith without being blatantly ignorant in the face of scientific fact.”

“I understand that the acutal thought process behind Evolution was that humans evolved but it still took a Creator. Even still, Evolution is not a fact. God said that things on earth are too complicated for the human mind and that our understanding will become clear when we get to heaven. There is no science out there that can prove evolution so I don't understand why that is what is taught in schools. This is one nation under GOD, not Darwin.”

“I believe that both intelligent design and evolution are a religion -- they must both be taken by faith. I also believe that intelligent design is much easier to believe than the idea that this incredibly complex and living universe "just happened" without a Master Mind behind it.”

“Intelligent design is more scientific than evolution, which requires more faith than any other scientific finding. Evolutionists are afraid of teaching anything alongside evolution because they know that parts of their "scientific" theory don't actually stand up to scrutiny.”

“How simple-minded of you in writing this survey, especially on Question 6! Since when do science and religion, both having to do with many important things in our everyday life and thus are definitely related, either conflict or agree with each other? Science and religion sometimes conflict and sometimes agree with each other. If one holds that time is continuous, as science defintely did assume in its early stages, then the idea of a supreme being who transcends time and space, that is, omnipresent, sounds ridiculous. Science and religion, in that case, conflict. However, as science progresses, time loses its one-dimensional attribute. The idea of a being, who, with appropriate resources, could be omnipresent, is no longer absurd. Science and religion then come to agree with each other in that instance. And what the proper relationship between two things that agree and disagree with each other at times so that each could both develop and come to mutual understanding is but not a complementary relationship? Is the relationship implied in "Humans evolved; God guided the process" not a complementary one?”

“As for what should be taught in schools, I think that any school's job is to educate its students, which would include making them aware of several different points of view about a discipline. Although a science class would probably choose to focus on the more measurable aspects of the debate surrounding our origins, if a school completely ignores the fact that there are different opinions about the issue, then the school is doing its students a disservice by not completely educating them.”

“I think both sides should be presented to young people in order to evoke free thinking and let them establish their own views with the knowledge of both sides.”

“This is a very interesting issue. I think that its important to teach both scientific views when there are conflicting views. If you limit the teaching to only one, then you are basically programming your youth to think one way instead of having their own opinions. Thats communism!”

“I believe in God and I believe the Bible; however I also beilieve that God may have used the creation story as a metaphoriacal narrative, and that it shouldn't be interpretated literally. I believe that God could have used evolution to create the world, if he wanted to. I also most certainly cannot believe that humans evolved purely by random occurance of genetic mutations and that there was no guiding power directing the process. This belief tells me that I was created by chance and therefore, what really is my purpose here? However by believing in evolution but by belieing that God guided the process, we are left knowing that we were created with a purpose.”

“I believe that God created everything in the Universe to fulfill his perfect plan. Whether or not we have evolved to our more advanced state is, in my opinion, something no one can be certain about. Nor does it matter. I think evolution has a right to be taught in schools as it is a science, however, forgetting to include God's divine intervention in the Universe is foolish. Regardless of whether schools are going to teach the truth, it is undeniable that hundreds of anthropic coincidences exist that point to the existance and intervention of a divine being in the creation of human life.”

“I don't really think either should be taught in school as much as possible; both are a question of faith, not science. If there is no way around the subject in a lesson, the teacher should just say nobody knows for sure how it happened.”

“Great Questions. The ID-Evolution debate is interesting and important because it gets to the philosophy of science. Is evolution a scientific theory or the premise of philosophical materialism? If the latter, then it is non-empirical science because, a priori, it rules out all other interpretations. If we cannot discuss "design" in the classroom, then it will be discussed outside the classroom. I'm so glad our campus is discussing it.”

“Intelligent Design is not really the best answer to the creation vs. evolution problem. Creation science is. Check out www.icr.org for real scientific answers to the creation question. Intelligent Design is a cop-out choice.”

“On question 6, I believe that religion and science could agree with each other. It comes down to the separation between believing something out of faith, or based on observation. Religion and science could combine the best of each to create something powerful: Religion's ability to gather people onto a similar belief, and science's ability to have an intelligent observer that might affect the outcome of an experiment based on willpower and desire. (see observer phenomenon in quantum physics)”

“Religion should not be used in school.”

“I really think that science and religion should not be in the same category. Schools should teach both and let students decide for themselves what they want to believe.”

“Whatever happened, I know that God did it. And that's enough for me right now. Since God created the universe and everything in it, I can't believe that science and religion can contradict each other. I just don't know enough about it all right now to reconcile the differences, but I hope to learn more. Until then and even then, I will rely on faith that my Father knows what's going on, even though I don't.”

“I think that question isn't worded very well, because I feel that it's obvious that there has been some form of natural selection leading to certain evolutionary changes (in the same way that a species eventually becomes immune to a disease). However, the answer choices seem to be worded so that one either must state that we evolved from a primordial soup or have undergone no changes in the course of human history. Just my two cents, take them for what they're worth.”

“I don't see how religion and science conflict. God is the creator of all that is, including science. I honestly don't think that my body, as complex and fascinating as it is, just formed from a primordial soup. My body - everyone's bodies - were intelligently designed.”

“Intelligent Design has not been proven. Although evolution is seen as a theory by most believers, it has been proven by the world of science; ID on the other hand has not.”

“FYI, I'm not wild about the definitions at the top--I don't find them mutually exclusive.”

“I feel like both of these concepts should only be discussed in the school systems. I see nothing wrong with teaching both theories as long as they are taught as theory and not fact. Like it or not none of us really know how it all started. Education should be about providing information for students to make their own dicisions about. I feel this is a serious issue and I am strongly against teaching bible stories in school as fact and not theory which I feel is the aim of the individuals supporting intelligent design.”

“Many Christians believe that science and God cannot co-exist. I believe that in science one can plainly see God because he created it. I believe in some parts of evolutionary theory and other parts I have not come to a conclusion yet. I think it's admirable of the scientific community to seek out understanding of how things occured. God desires to reach the heart through the mind, and hopefully this will be accomplisehd in many intellects that have only head knowledge of "God" or "religion". What is of the utmost importance is that God made creation. It simply really doesn't matter how it happened! Romans 1.”

“There are not enough options for some of the questions and I had to select "don't know/no opinion."”

“There is sufficient scientific evidence to conclude that genetic traits evolve in a population and are passed from one generation to the next over time. This is science. However, the scientific evidence is insufficient to conclude that this process of evolution has altered any species to the extent of creating a new species. The notion that humans evolved from a single cell organism is not sufficiently supported with scientific evidence. Therefore we must choose to put our faith in our narrow understanding of science, or put our faith in intelligent design. I choose to put my faith in intelligent design.”

“I find it horrific that a major university such as TCU should even have to be considering the evolution vs. "intelligent design" debate. College should be about education, not about religion.”

“Who so ever said that the bible (word for word) was absolute truth in every way? God didnt. The bible is compilled of differnet stories with different authors all the way through. Some of the stories are factual and some are just that...stories or summeries of a chain of events. Think about the people chosen to write these scriptures...how do you think they could describe evolution ..."God made man" what more do you need. Simple and to the point but doesnt mean that he couldnt have made other beings to form his perfect being that we are today. Oh and ps.....Darwin believed in God and worshiped Jesus. Read his book on evolution along with his personal memoirs and you will find out. He never discredited God, just took the formation of man to a scientific view that would make more sense in the scientific world.”

“Religion has no buisness in a science class. If it's a religous course, then they could teach intelligent design.”

“intelligent design is a weak attempt by religious scholars to combat the unquestionable proof that supports the evolutionary theory. in no way is intelligent design scientific and in no way could it be taken seriously by anyone with cognizant thought.”

“If in discussing evolution we're talking about simple and minor change over time (after life began), that does of course occur. But in talking about the origin of life, it did not evolve but was divinely created. In relation to question 3, it is possible to believe in God and evolution, but it is not possible to have a TRUE understanding of God and the Bible and still believe in evolution. About question 5, if we want to teach what is true, then schools should only teach creation of life by God. Yet evolution has become so widespread that it would be best to make students familiar with the basis of both so they can make informed decisions. Unfortunately what usually occurs is that evolution is blatently taught as the fact of how life began (when much research actually disproves it), and if creation is mentioned at all, it is said to be a myth. When the facts are examined, a belief in evolution as the origin of life actually requires MORE faith than belief that a divine, intelligent God created it.”

“I do believe in God and I do believe in evolution. Neither science nor religion has absolutes, so, keeping an open mind about both seems to be the smarter thing to do.”

“I think all options should be considered and offered to children in school so they are allowed to make their own decisions.”

“I believe that God is the Creator of all living things as the Bible says in the book of Genesis. It is my strong belief that it is not possible for anything, especially things of such complexity like the human body to evolve over time. The only answer to the question of how the world was created is that there is a God, and creation is a testament of this truth.”

“God is amazing.”

“As theory evolution is shaky to say the least. There are a lot of holes and some of their hypothesis just are not logical. This is not to say that intelligent design does not take a leap of faith. On question # 2: if you believe in the Bible and not in the creation story then what else do you throw out. Once you start claiming part of the scripture is invalid where do you stop? Question # 5: when these are taught in schools they should be presented for what they are, theories, and nothing more than that. When you blur the line between fact and theory then you hit a lot of problems, like abiogenesis.”

“There's no real conflict between science and the Bible. We all have the same evidence. We observe the same facts. The difference is in the interpretation of the evidence. Those who believe Evolution, including most scientists, choose to assume that there is no God (or that He is irrelevant), and they try to interpret the evidence on that basis. Many scientists believe that the evidence makes better sense when interpretted according to a straight-forward reading of the Bible.”

“I also don't consider evolution to be a science, as it is based on as much speculation as intelligent design. science is based on controlled, repeated experimentation to prove theory; evolution is totally a speculation based on observation of the present and applying it inappropriately to the past, and therefore cannot be called science. I don't really think that either should be taught in schools, as neither are science as defined by the scientific model and so don't really have a place. assuming that "religion" is referring to christianity, I believe that modern biology and geology points to the idea of a creator and more specifically a biblical model for creation, so I believe that they agree.”

“Evolution can occur, but I believe that it did not to the extent to say that everything evolved from a single celled organism.”

“Separation of religion and state demands that religion is not taught as a subject in school, but we are "one nation under God" and should teach about the world's major religion's. This would help against prejudice.”

“I think God made man as man, i.e. as more than just one cell that evolved into many, but I do believe that we have evolved through natural selection, to survive in different environmental conditions”

“Intelligent Design is a cover up of Creationism. It has no validity whatsoever. It is not science, evolution is. God exists in my heart. He is psychologically present, at least should be, in all, of us.but God as a physical entity driving things around has no evidence.”

“As a scientist I believe science aims to prove God's existence not to undermine it.”

“First of all, I have to begin by saying that I am devout in my belief that the Bible is truth, that God created all things under Heaven and Earth and that His work did not end with creation, but rather He is still at work in our lives as human beings and still at work in nature and all other living things. As far as Evolution is concerned, I do not believe entirely in the theory as the majority of its precepts challenge what I hold to be truth, such as the idea that we as human beings evolve by some natural process. I disagree. While physically we may differ from one another in appearance at the present time and compared to times past, it is not a significant evolutionary process that is or has been occurring. I do agree that other living beings are subject to the concept of natural selection, a precept I understand to be under the embrella of "Evolutionary Theory". I believe that God created all other living things to exist in a natural order that does effect a natural progression of change as creatures who bear genetic traits that compliment their environment and surrounding creatures tend to outlast those who don't thereby optimizing the population of that species with only the best traits. In this way, I believe that at least a part of Evolutionary theory (as it applies to other living things) can still work into God's plan for us. As far as Intelligent Design being a science, the truth of our creation by the hands of our one and only God is a fact that can certainly be observed and studied. The meticulous care that God took in creating the world we live in, the very fact that absolutely every component of this complex universe is arranged in the one, exactly perfect place in order to sustain our physical lives is certainly made evident by our scientific discoveries. In fact, I believe that the very essence of science is discovering just how wonderfully genius God's design is, and with each new discovery we get a better idea of just how vital it is that we have a Creator because none of what we know today could possibly hold together and sustain life without someone who can manage the staggering complexity of it all. In regards to what should be taught in schools, I understand this is a hot button for a lot of people. I hold firmly to what I know is truth, but I know that I cannot simply force that belief on another and expect them to genuinely receive it. And I know that we cannot teach on one perspective without giving equal credit to the perspective of others. We as Christians would be hypocrites if we cry "Foul!" for not giving equal opportunity for lecturing on Intelligent Design and then turn around and say that only Intelligent Design should be taught. Students need to find truth on their own. If by the grace of God I am blessed with a family some day, it will always be my prayer that my children will discover the truth: that God created all things in this world and governs them even now in accordance with his perfect and loving will. But I know that I can't tell my children what to believe. I can guide them as their parent, I can pray over them, but ultimately, the path to their acceptance of what is truth is one that they will have to walk alone. I would love to give children a better chance of finding their way by only showing them truth, but if they never discover what falsehood looks like, they may falter and be led astray. I cannot as a Christian and as a firm believer in the faith stand up and say only teach Intelligent Design, even though I disagree with the majority of what I know to be Evolutionary Theory. The students will have to judge all perspectives on their own and make their own personal decision to accept God or not. The sum of it all is this: even though a few evolutionary ideas (such as natural selection) can be linked back to truth, you cannot believe in God's sovereignty over all creation and also believe in the entire Evolutionary Theory. But I cannot say that one should be taught without the other. However, I believe that science as a whole does not come into direct conflict with God's design. I believe that scientific pursuit will actually serve to illuminate God's magnificence by revealing the intricate details of all that He has created. The fact is that science can tell us HOW things work, and God shows us WHY.”

“Evolution is a scientific theory, the study of which follows the scientific method. Intelligent design does not follow the scientific method, and therefore has no place in a science classroom. However, perhaps it would be suited to a class on philosophy, should the school offer one. I believe "intelligent design" is creationism in a cheap tuxedo, and the "debate" is not really a debate, since there is no scientific evidence to back up the claims of intelligent design. Proponents of ID take advantage of a logical fallacy in which the unsupported claim is given credibility only because there is an argument against it.”

“Personally, this is one of the things that makes me question my belief in God and whether it is possible that he exists. I find it hard to believe that humans could have evolved from almost nothing into what we are today without some greater force behind it. But science is so exact and specific that it makes me doubt that God, if he does in fact exist, had anything to do with how we ended up. There's too many questions and uncertainty, if you ask me.”

“If they want to teach religion, perhaps they ought to teach them all and avoid the science department.”

“People like Copernicus and Gailileo were ostracized for their beliefs becuase they were against the teachings of the bible. THe more science uncovers, the more the religous right criticizes.”

“I do not believe in macro-evolution, the theory that humans evolved from apes. However, I do believe in micro-evolution or the theory that humans and other animals have physically changed slightly over the years in order to adapt to their environments.”

“Evolution!”

“you should not teach them but inform them about what the theory is or are, evolution is still a theroy, there is also another theroy saying we came from a protist in mars..”

“If we teach intelligent design in school we should also force educators to teach malevolent design as well. Unlike Intelligent Design, for which the evidence is zero, malevolent design has tons of empirical evidence, maybe more than Darwinian evolution theory by some criteria. Just look around at the world for a moment and stare in wonder at the way God has treated us.We are beset by all kinds of unnecessary, physical, and moral evils. With the presence of such absurd immorality, death, pain, and misery spread before us on this worldly theater, the fact that someone could claim God made this world intelligently is laughable monkeyshine. God is a bungler at best and an immoral scoundrel at worst.”

“I think ID is a bit of weak retort to those who believe in Evolution. I fully admit ID is a possibility but from a scientific/philisophic standpoint I do not think ID has a leg to stand on.”

“I think that they should mainly foucus on evolution in schools and mention intelligent design. This way the students will have heard of it before and can go research it on their own time.”

“I believe that both should be taught in school so that students can know the facts and be able to debate each of them and decide what they believe.”

“Evolution is taught in primary and secondary schools as a given fact when it is only a theory. I think that in order to give a more detailed and complete picture of the theory of evolution the subject should be taught more objectively by presenting both the arguments for evolution and the arguments, primarily scientif evidence, against evolution. Teaching intelligent design in conjunction with evolution is unnecessary, especially if both scientific evidence for and against evolution are presented.”

“                  Intelligent design is not a science based idea it is a religion based idea used to describe the world today, therefore as a non-based scietific theory it has no basis to be taught in a sciences setting. Leave it to the Religion department to teach.”

“Intelligent design is one of the craziest and ridiculous concepts ever developed. Why can't people look at science and realize that it is undeniable that evolution has occured. Evolution doesn't deny God exists it just shows that God likes to let people make their own way/ decisions and develop, change and grow. It would be awful boring for God if we weren't constantly developing and changing.”

“I believe that God created man in his image. Other animals may have evolved to adapt to their environments over time, but God is the sole creator and designer.”

“Every new scientific discovery underscores biblical truth. Anyone with any knowledge of human anatomy can see the impossibility of evolution from a single cell creature.”

“evolution is amazing”

“This is an issue that I find to be very important. I am currenly writing a term paper on the topic of environmental ethics and religion seems to be the biggest barrier to a proper conservation movement. As long as people have the idea that the earth was given to them to use as they best see fit, than a healthy ecological community cannot exist. "But people who know that the earth got along just fine without man for three billion years have no such excuse for believing in our stewardship, which is again nothing but arrogance and vanity and anthropocentric tomfoolery. We have as much business being stewards of the earth as infants have being stewards of the nursery. It’s we who are dependent on the world, not the other way round." --Daniel Quinn, Providence”

“I believe the micro-evolution is correct byend a doubt, the theory of macro-evolution is very difficult to defend because there is no evidence for it as of right now, but as new species are constantly going in and out of existence, I see no concrete evidence to the contrary.”

“If intelligent design is to be taught in schools it needs to be taught in a philosophy class along side all of the major religions and their views of creation.”

“As science and technology find answers to questions that have historically been answered with faith or earlier by the gods, disputes such as these will change and fade. We no longer believe in weather gods. Taking the Creation story as truth without interpretation is foolish. Evolution with some sort of as yet unexplainable God participation is the really the only way to see how things have taken place.”

“I am a PhD student at Brite Divinity School, specializing in the Hebrew Bible. The first chapters of Genesis are one of the texts I know best. It begins "B'reishit bara elohim et hashamayim v'et ha'aretz. V'haaretz haita tohu vavohu, v'choshekh al p'nei t'hom..."

“I think micro evolutions do occur, not debating that. I think many of the arguments come from uninformed people.”

“God chooses not to interfere with daily life, so why would he have orchestrated or interfered with evolution. Fate does not exist.”

“There is no question when it comes to supernatural being. At least everybody even the etheists believe in this, that God is above all and created man. Nowander when one is scared, wounded, on in trouble, our tongues are quick to say " Oh my God". I have never heard of anybody including etheists in this situation yelling " Oh my Satan!", hence once we tend to identify ourselves with God than Satan, then we have to agree with all He says in the bible. Inteligent design is just a science and knowledge that should not give us headache. Just as the bible wants us to learn that Satan do exist, I think it is imperative for the inteligent design to be taught too besides the bible as away of awareness.”

“Question 6 doesn't allow for the possiblity of some conflict as well as some similarities...”

“Intelligent design is ridiculous and cannot be taught in schools because there is no basis for it. It is an attempt for insecure religious personel to bend sciene to their beliefs. It cannot be taught as fact because it can neither be proven or disproven.”

“God could have guided evolution as animals were created before people. Genesis uses the word day to explain the time period in which God was creating the world. But we do not know that days were the same length of time as we used them to be today.”

“I think because we have freedom of religion, both evolution and intelligent design should be presented in schools as theories along with other begining of the world theories, without judgement on them so each person can decide what to believe individually.”

“I view evolution as the "change in allele frequency over time within a species' population." This could be in conflict with the above definition of evolution being "a new genetic trait," if "new" means a trait which randomly appears from no where. It has been shown that environmental factors can cause a trait already within a population's genetic code to become displayed more commonly, thereby changing the average rate of occurrence of that trait within the population. For example, the average beak size of a bird population can become larger if the local hydrology of the environment can only produce larger, more difficult to break open seeds, which causes only the none average, larger beak birds to be able to survive, resulting in the next generaton to have larger beaks as well. Now the entire population has changed with regard to the average genetic frequency of a specific trait, as found by Darwin. The birds did not just one day switch from beaks to elephant trunks.”

“Religion can not be skewed by science as it is a lot today”

“I believe in the separation of church and state first and foremost with regard to the education of children. That is why I believe evolution should be taught in schools and not intelligent design.”

"I think there is so little we understand about God that we can't compartmentalize Him into one specific way or thought."

"It is a crime to preach evolution in our schools without teaching intelligent design, especially since such a large percentage of Americans believe that God created everything."

"I have not seen science go beyond theory to explain evolution. I have though studied the working of the body at the biomolecular level, and that is fascinatingly complex yet efficient. Nothing in science, which is tangible/observable that I know, contradicts the Bible. If both evolution and intelligent design are taught, then indeed students will be able to choose for themselves what makes real sense. I have yet to see any public school that teaches anything but theory (evolutionary theory) when it comes to the origin of living things. What a loss for informed debate and critical thinking!!

"It is a difficult debate. I faith in God, but believe that there is such a thing as natural selection and evolution."

"Teach public school children both, and let them form their own opinions and beliefs. Science can back up its claim with what evidence it has, and I don't believe God is afraid of being questioned. I think there is reason to have faith in both."

"The development of religion was part of the evolution of the human thought process and the humun mind's need to discover and have worth. I appreciate both points of view. I believe religion is right for some people to achieve happiness, and I believe others achieve happiness through the unknown. I lean more towards the latter. I also believe that if there is a true God, he would never punish the mind for exploring the great possibilities. If he didn't want to mind to explore, he would leave more obvious signs of his existence. Although life itself could be a great sign. I could argue for both sides, and enjoy doing so. Albert Einstein once said 'Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.' "

"I think that through science we can see GOd and have proff that we were no acident. Science and the study of evolution only reafirm how unique we are and that we dident just come from a puddle of primortial soup. It is all in God plan, he is the creator of this world, the earth is filled with His glory. -Cameron Schneider"

"I think that if schools are going to teach evolution and/or intelligent design, they need to teach creation by God as well."

"I find is somewhat hard when we start debating whether or not to bring intellignet design into our schools. There has always been a definite line between church and state and there's no reason to ignore this line and attempt to bring religion into the scince classroom. Intelligent design is not science, but simply a creationist way around evolution. There is nothing wrong with believing in both evolution and God. I believe that science should always attempt to answer the how questions while religion sticks to the how questions since neither can answer the other."

"I think that Genesis leaves room and time for evolution. They don't contradict one another."

"Evolution is one way to describe how we all came to be. As a nursing major, I see the miracles of life in the hospital. How a baby is created is an amazing process. I do not think we can ever fully get our heads around the miracle of life. If you want to call it evolution, intelligent design, or creationism we obviously change from generation to generation. For instance as a whole humans are much taller than our ancestors. What acounts for this change is up to the individual to decide. All views should be taught in schools - children should question - we should question what know. If we never question what we hear, read, or see we will live dim, close-minded, and boring lives. I am here at TCU to learn as much as I can and then chose the best way FOR ME to think and live. The ability to change, to evolve one's thinking, is essential to bettering one's life."

"God created all things including science."

"I believe that God created us, and then we evolved from that."

"At some points, science and religion are clearly seen to clash, while at other points, they tend to support one another. What degree they are seen to agree with each other also depends somewhat on the person and their conservative or liberal nature."

"Everything happens for a reason. This is all we need to know."

"peace and love!!"

"Intelligent design needs to be taught in schools!"

"I don't believe in evolution in the sense that humans evolved from apes; however, I do believe in evolution within a species."

"This is a stupid survey. Anyone who has studied any from science knows that creationism is only a story, not the truth. This debated ended decades ago among people who actually study the subject."

"Question 6 is too general. There is nothing to put in between 'agree' and 'conflict.' "

"There is no way to answer the bigger question of differences in evolution and intelligent design but I agree that both theories should be taught in school."

"Evolution to be taught in school, faith to be taught at home. They function on two different levels, are not incompatible, and each child should decide for themselves what they believe to be true."

"As to the question can evolution and intelligent design co-exist, I believe the answer is yes. As we have seen throughout the generations there are many things that can be passed down genetically (evolution), these things are mainly diseases- alcoholism, depression, HIV, etc. I do not believe, however, that we evolved from any other living organism. There are many things our bodies adapt to that we do not pass on to future generations (i.e. A common sign of anorexia is a large amount of hair growth, if an anorexic person was to have children the children would have the same amount of hair as the anorexic person when he/she was completely healthy, not when he/she was anorexic."

"Evolution exists. It is apparent when breeding horses or dogs. One breeds them for their traits. So, to say evolution does not exist is pure stupidity and religious brainwashing! It has no place in the classroom. Science is not religion and religion is not science. This huge debate seems to only happen down south...move to the West if you want to actually learn science and not deny Darwin!"

"Religon and Science should not be compared."

"You can't make a fair judgement of whether I believe in god/intelligent design or not by asking whether god guided the process of evolution. Evolution can be spawned by each without any further guidance, no?"

"Science for school, religion for church"

"I believe in Ulitmate Intelligent Design, but that over time we will naturally evolve. Evolution does not mean moneky to human, but a natural progression of intelligence, cultural traditions, human strengths- we adapt to present conditions."

"Question five is unfair. Intelligent design, although claiming to be otherwise, is a Christian-perspective version of creation. Even though I am Christian, I believe that if you teach any form of religion in schools then you should teach all, and you should teach them as theories because it is wrong to impose any belief as absolute truth, which is why I believe evolution should not be the only theory presented either."

"The survey needs to distinguish between macro and micro evolution, there's a big difference. God is like a black hole, we cannot see a black hole itself but we can see its effect on other spacial bodies. In the same way we cannot see God but we see his effect on our lives and in our world i.e. guiding the evolutionary process."

"I am a strong Christian, but I also believe in evolution. I think that there is a higher power and that people should have faith, but at the same time relize that it is very possible that humans, like all living thigs can evolve."

"I think its important for people to know the difference between micro and macro evolution. The problem isn't micro evolution, it is macro evolution."

"Q3 - It is possible to believe in God and evolution, but the Bible and evolution are in conflict since evolution would assume that death existed before man's sin. Q5 - the evidence for both should be discussed, but parents should be their children's primary source of instruction Q6 - ultimately they will agree, although man's ineptitude causes temporary disagreement Q7 - no grad student option."

"We should teach only what is in accord with the facts."

"While supporters try to sell intelligent design as a science theory, it has nothing to do w/ sience This is because its ending result is not reached by following the 5 scientific questions, which is the way all scientific theories are infered, including evolution."

"Just because you believe in evolution doesn't mean you can't believe in God's creation story. How do we know how long a "day" is in God's time frame."

"As stated above, I hold both that intelligent design is not a formal science and that, truth be told, science and relgion do not conflict with one another. Each field attempts to answer completely different questions: science is in the business of answering "how?" and religion "why?" No metaphysics can be reaped from science, as that is not a component of the field. To try to create a conflict between religion and science would be to assert that the fields of interior design and medieval european history are in direct conflict. They do not pose the same questions; they cannot conflict. Also, intelligent design is not a science, but a pseduoscience. An attempt at blending metaphysics with epistemology in the manner that intelligent design proponents would do is out and out pablum. Everyone is so fervently in search for easy answers that they would rather dilute two rich theories-those of evolution and Judeo-Chrisitan creationism-to fit their agenda. This is a blatant misstep and one that should be remedied with sober and thorough debate."

"It is possible to believe in both God and evolution. I believe that God created the world and everything in it. I don't believe that humans evolved from a fish or some small creature. I do believe in evolution to a small extent though (like natural selection and such)."

"An elaboration on my answer to question 5: The solution to teaching both ID theory and Evolution in schools would be to teach Evolution in the science department while studying ID theory in literature/english. The materials could be covered simultaneously or back to back and would create a link between the classes. This way, a scientific Evolution study could remain in the science classroom, and literature ( i.e. the Bible ) would remain in the literature department."

"Religion is man's take upon the world. Science is man's explanation of the world. Relgion is what people "think" while science is what IS happening in people's world."

"True science flies in the face of evolution. No time to get long winded here, but start with the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics. Also, it is a scientific fact that the earth is creeping ever closer to the sun a tiny, measurable distance each year. If you reverse that rate, there is a point at which the earth would be too far from the sun and the extreme cold would be uninhabitable. Intelligent design is natural. We look at a watch or a complex engine or computer and know that something intelligent created it. Noone steps back and says, "wow, those parts just happened to manufacture themselves out of nowhere, fly together in perfect order, and make a complicated device. Yet people want to believe that our infinitely more complicated universe came about this way?"

"God's time is not our time so when you say seven days to create the Earth he knew that our simple minds could not comprehend his time so we have our time. To say seven days is may not be our time but God's time."

"I think that evolution should be taught in schools as a science. However, I think that different beliefs of different religions are presented because I think that awareness is important."

"if their is creation there has to be a creator...it is ridiculous to think that if their is a building there is no builder or a painting with no painter...it is an insult to our intelligence, but we are supposed to believe that there is a creation, but no creator..."

"I'm always perplexed that intelligent design people don't go after physicists instead of biologists. The evolution of all the fundamental particles and the way they interact together is far more important to the question of the nature of our origins than the biological insights, no matter how profound, from the "Origin of Species." If God is directing the evolution of species, he has no choice but to do it through physics, since those are the principles that guide everything in chemistry though biology. And if you study physics carefully, you find much evidence for self-organization and very simple relationships leading to fantastically rich diversity in dynamical systems, as well as the delicate balance between very accurate knowledge about the probabilities of outcomes, balanced with the uncertainties for individual measurements inherent in quantum mechanics. It's interesting that in the backwards way we teach science in high school, biology comes first, and many students never get around to taking physics before they graduate. I'm afraid the intelligent design proponents may have missed some golden opportunities to their wisdom through an understanding of dynamics, complexity and quantum mechanics. On the other hand, maybe I should be comforted that they aren't informed enough to gang up on physicists like me and choose to unleash their version of the wrath of the Lord on biologists."

"You don't allow a "no answer" when one of your answers doesn't fit. For instance, on question 6, I have an opinion, so I can't choose the final option, but none of your options are accurate for me, and I can't opt to leave the question blank. Also, on question 7, you've sent this to graduate students, so you either need to add that as a category, or allow people to leave it blank."

"Personally, I believe that evolution can agree with some of what the bible states. However, the most important thing is for us to believe that God created us and that we have evolved over time. Not necessarily the way evolutionist believe, but in a different way."

"I think this is a rather challenging question to answer. Many want to believe God did it all but you cannot deny scientific proof."

"Religion should not be taught in public school. I think religion should be left with Sunday school."

"While my answer to question 5 is 'Evolution only,' I would like to quantify that view with this statement: Evolution should be taught as THEORY, not fact. Futhermore, Intelligent Design should not be presented as theory or fact, because its ultimate relationship to a higher power would be a violation of the separation of church and state."

"It doesn't matter what you really believe in their are two sciences involved with this debate. The first dealing with the religious aspect, people psychologically feel a need or want to believe/perceive in things higher than themselves. The other side of the argument has scientific evidence that the brain and the intelligence areas have evolved to great degrees. I am a psych student and i do believe in God but i do not believe that he/it has guided all evolution throughout time. There is no proof of a higher entity and yet i believe, but there is proof that evolution has occured and thus i believe in evolution theory as well."

"The seven days of creation in Genesis could be any amount of time. God started the earth in such a way that it would end up how it is today; once he put it in motion he already knew the conclusion. Therefore, evolution and creationism can coincide."

"I'm glad to see people recognizing that religion and science are not mutually exclusive. Our God is a god of order and wise design. He created the world and the processes that accompany it. Long before "Intelligent Design" became well-known, I've always believed that God set a process in motion similar to evolution (but not exactly what is being taught as evolution--the theory of evolution has some serious flaws), and that He directed it. SOMETHING had to set the process in motion. I believe that we still do not know the actual true process of how humans and the various species developed. Maybe we never will on this side of heaven. However, scientific evidence makes it appear that humans did develop over time, but not in exactly the way that is currently taught. In all other types of science, order does not randomly come from chaos, but instead, order can deteriorate into chaos. As a book that promotes creationism puts it: that's like saying a tornado in a junkyard can randomly create a 747 aircraft."

"#2 As far as God guiding the evolutionary process, or creating people as in the Biblical account, both are possible; after all, I wasn't there. But the second one is not likely. #5 Intelligent design is not a scientific theory. If anything, it is a theory in philosophy, an argument from analogy, and that is where it should be studied, if it should be studied at all. But since most high school don't have philosophy classes, that is probably not an option. If, however, they would like to study it, it might fit into things like history classes: we talked extensively about the history of modern thought in my AP European History course. Or in a religious school, it could be taught in religion classes (the Intelligent Design argument is actually just a proof for the existence of God, though there are far more convincing ones--for instance, the Ontological Argument for the existence of God)."

"Both Evolution and Intelligent Design should be taught in school because they are two theoretical solutions to the same problem. No theory can ever be entirely proven as true, so all reputable ones should be considered and taught."

"The statement that a divine creator is responsible for all life is non-falsifiable, meaning that intelligent design as an argument for science can never be changed or improved based on empirical evidence. Furthermore, since intelligent design as a theory lacks testability and observability, therefore it should not be placed in the same category as the scientific theory of evolution, which lends itself to constant improvement as new tangible data becomes available. Religion and science are also two realms that should be treated as separate systems that can easily be compatible with one another; one such as myself can find no conflict between believing in a divine power and accepting legitimate scientific theory as a basis for life on this planet."

"Religion has no place in school. Science should be taught in schools and religion should be taught at church."

"If they teach creastionism in school then that means that there is no seperation of church and state. Also to do so shows favor to christanity as other religions have different beliefs regarding the origins of man. So to show favor to one and neglect the other is unfair."

"As for question six, although I think they agree with each other, that is because science itself is unreliable, as new findings change what we know to be true all the time. In that sense, since science and bend and fold, it can be seen in agreeance with religion."

"As an Anthroplogy major I have spent a great deal of time studing about evolution and I think that if everyone was presented with the artifacts then they would be more accepting of the evolutionary theory"

"Question 6: They will agree with each other one day."

"In the questions above I answered "God created humans in present form as described in the Bible" but I think it is more than that. I think it is entirely possible that God created man as described in the Bible but humans have evolved since then, not necessarily from single cell organism, but I do not recall the words present form in the bible. I think that the two theories can live in unison. On a side note, I answered that I am a senior because there is not option for grad student."

"Darwin himself stated that if the missing link was never found that his theory would be disproved. We have yet to find an ape that has turned into a human being. Dogs have puppies, Cats have kittens, and humans have human infants. I know that this seems very simple, yet it is. My career and life have been surrounded by science. The more I study and the more I learn, the more I am convinced that we have an awesome creator."

"Intelligent design can not be considered sound scientific theory because the majority of current scientific evidence pertaining to the subject conflicts with the theory. The support of intelligent design draws more from people's unprovable opinions and beliefs than it does from science or fact. It is my opinion that the push to teach intelligent design in public schools by some is simply a lightly veiled attempt to force creationist ideas back into the school systems. While the theory of evolution is a theory and remains a work in progress, it also represents the most current and factually based thinking of scientists and specialists within the field, and should be taught as such in public classrooms."

"On question 5, I would have said neither had it been an option."

"I'm Christian but do not translate the Bible as a literal account of absoulte fact."

"Did death come through man, as stated in the Bible, or did man come through death, as stated in evolution? Evolutions says that by inferior creatures dying off, humans evolved; thus, death of the inferior species brought man into the world. The Bible states completely opposite: "since death came through a man" (1 Cor. 15:21. this is just one contradiction evolution has with "Intelligent Design", or creationism. Almost everything evolution claims is in direct contradiction to what is stated in the Bible. And about the so called "geologic column" that tells us the "age of the earth" and the fossils, please explain to me the hundreds of PETRIFIED TREES found running through multiple layers of rock... some are even found petrified UPSIDE DOWN running through multiple rock layers, taught by evolutionists to be millions of years in age difference. Those layers are not formed over BILLIONS of years, they were formed in a flood. how else could you get a petrified tree upside down through multiple layers of rock?? The Bible calls people like that "willingly ignorant" scoffers. Evolution is nohting new.. Jeremiah talked about it "they say to wood, 'You are my father', and to stone, 'You gave me birth'." (Jer 2:27). I am enraged that in 2 of my classes evolution was taught as fact, not theory; intelligent design was never addressed either. I could go on forever, but I think you'd stop reading. God bless you, whoever you are. I hope this nation will soon turn from its evil ways and seek God."

"Genesis is allegory. It was an explination to ancient peoples who could not understand things such as evolution. Genesis simply gives a why and how we are here. It is a story to try and help explain the sinful nature of man and why we need God. Try explaining atoms to someone 10,000 years ago, knowledge hadnt advance that far yet. Just a way to explain the unexplainable. In my belief evolution occured (best guess as most evidence supports it) and thats how it should be taught. A theory that has alot of evidence, but explain theories are proven wrong every day. Simply teach the leading theory, evolution. Simplest solution is often the right one. The Bible isnt literal, its a guide to help live ones life."

"I believe that God created humans, but that we have evolved in some ways, such as skin color, for example. We are not sure what skin color Adam had, but when the people at the tower of Bable had their languages confused they spread all over the earth. So, the people that migrated to Africa went through natural selection so that the ones who had darker skin survived better, because darker skin is a better protection from the sun."

"With regards to the 'what should be taught in schools' question...evolution is a scientific hypothesis and intelligent design is a religious hypothesis. Sure, you can teach both; but keep intelligent design in religion class and evolution in science class. You don't learn about multiplying fractions in english so why would you mix these two subjects also?"

"One I believe that God created everything WITH science or WISDOM. I do not believe that all existence is due to the "Big Bang" theory. When a person thinks of a big bang, destruction comes to mind. The wonderful creations that we see on this planet could not be from an explosion. Bombs explode (with a bang) and cause destruction and death not beauty and life. Look around you, there must be a God. Sure man can mimmick what God has made. We created airplanes in order to fly like birds, submarines in order to swim like fish. Man can not create a fish nor a bird we are only able to mimic what our creator has made. It is hard for me to believe that because of some destructive 'bang' all things have come to be what they are today. Besides, someone had to have made all the things necessary in order to create the 'bang' in the first place."

"God definitely created Man in his own image and likeness. However, I think there are certain aspects of evolution that could have been put in motion by God. The natural extinction of species and some aspects of Natural selection may be two such motions. I think thre are certain aspects of these theories that could have a devine touch to them. But God is definitely the ultimate truth. There can be no other. It is important to note that God created the mind of the scientist. Every thing we discover or become knowedeable about was already there. We are simply just beginning to find out about it. Let us not be deceived, Man would nver be more powerful than God. If any one thinks and beleves this he or she is living in an illusive world."

"If science were more open-minded and used the definition of it (to provide answers) as what guided it, it would see that most of science supports that the universe and life are more complex than something that could have been created by natural selection. Besides, science has yet to find the answer to: How did the first life come to be? It can be seen that even the first life form is irreducibly complex (if any part were taken away, it would not function). How can science explain that EVERYTHING came together at the exact time to create the Amoeba? It can't. Also, the same goes for intermediate species. If something is evolving, what happens to the intermediate species. We have also never witnessed macroevolution. Only micro. If you mix one thing with another it does not produce a new species."

"Question 6 should have had a 'not in conflict with each other' answer which is different than 'not related' and different than 'agree with each other' "

"This was a topic in my honors class that I really enjoyed and more should be informed!!"

"I think that it is ignorant to only teach one form of creation, regardless of your views. No one knows for sure and we need to teach all aspects."

"I feel that the question of where man came from is a question that is never going to be answered. To try to comprehend mans actual existence is a futile expodition. One's time would better be served not trying to rationalize what is right, but rather what one could do to improve the future existance of man. In summary, both views are wrong in the sense that neither can be 100%."

"Technically, neither argument is science in the strictest sense of the word. And I think that often the sciences get ahead of themselves, but always end up confirming what the Bible has to say rather than denying it."

"I think intelligent design should be more than a two sentence sidenote that teachers feel obligated to mention. perhaps the teachers could present some information that supports intelligent design so that the students can have a fair chance at making an educated decision."

"High schools should focus on the theory that will be most prevalent in college- that is, evolution- regardless of personal feelings. In-depth courses on Creationism or Intelligent Design are, at best, luxuries dependent on time and money and still better relegated to religion classes. But, as always, textbooks and biology courses must be honest and forthright about shortcomings and deficienies of current evolutionary theory. Anything less would be contrary the spirit of science."

"ID is not a science, it is a religious theory. Religion and science don't exist well comingled: religion should not be scientifically proved or science religiously denied."

"Religion and science are tools humans have created for themselves in order to explain the things that they cannot explain. Over time, science has taken the "mystery" out of many things such as the rising and setting of the sun. Such things have been universally accepted as fact, thus lending credibility to the scientific community. Religion on the other has been able to come up with a more convincing explaination of how humans came into being, thus lending credibility to the religious community. However, science has proven that somethings exist in a certain way simply because we observe them in that way, such as light. Both science and religion of their fundamental flaws that make both idea paths vulnerable to scrutiny. In the end individuals pick and choose what they want to believe and what they do not want to believe. I think that is the way it should be. I would never force a steel worker to use carpenters tools. In the same light I would never force a person to use spiritual tools that do not fit their position in life."

"Separation of church and state; it's a concept in the constitution"

"For question number six. I wish there was a choice of religion and science sometimes agreeing and conflicting with each other. I don't believe that everytime confliction happens, so I had to pick one."

"Religion and science balance each other so well. There is little evidence for God now but earlier on in time, yes. If God snapped his fingers, how big of a bang would it create?"

"Schools should teach children that evolution is the way the world works, but that some people believe that God created everything. Teach them what is right (evolution) but also what the religion is based on. It is a good idea that children know what the bible says."

"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. There is evidence everywhere to show that so much incredible creation could not come out of some sort of plasma and evolve into what we are today. A Christian cannot accept both God as creator and evolution as a process. They contradict each other. The Bible is either totally true or totally false- you cannot pick and choose."

"To clarify Question 5, I think that both may be taught in schools. However, I think that Intelligent Design should be reserved for Religion or Philosophy classes and not placed in the realm of Biology or any other manner of scientific inquiry."

"On Q6 which religion are you asking about? The lies of evolution supporters should be exposed!"

"I think evolution and creation should be taught in schools because kids need to decide for themselves; just because I know Intelligent Design to be true does not mean that children shouldn't know about evolution. I think a respectful way of revealing facts for Intelligent Design should be presented while also representing what information has been provided on evolution, so that whatever decision is made the person knows both sides. Children deserve the chance to consider God was their Creator, not just that they evolved."

"This is a topic I've become well versed on, and I've come to terms with the fact that since there is a lot the Bible leaves out, evolution is highly possible but you CANNOT leave out God in the process. No way."

"I believe that humans have evolved from smaller and bigger hands, possibly resembling monkeys. We resembled monkeys but we did not come from monkeys. We have evolved to look like we do now. From being short and stocky to being taller and slimmer now. I believe in God and believe that God created us to be humans and not animals. And I do think God has guided us through evolution to be able to survive in this envionment that we live in now."

"There needs to be more options or a fill in your own answer on this survey. For example, it's too generic to say "God created humans in present form as described in the Bible" because many Christians believe that humans are not in the same form as they were when God created them and believe that humans HAVE evolved on a minor scale (microevolution), like getting taller, but have not evolved on a major scale (macroevolution), like coming from apes. Also... If any person searches deeply enough into evolution, they will find many disturbing faults that make it hard to trust. If a person is having a difficult time trusting Christianity due to confusion about evolution, they need to dig into both sides - deeply. I have no doubt that they will find truth."

"Why not teach both views, just as there are two views to almost any argument, any viewpoint? This discussion is no different."

"Can easily agree with each other, as long as people are willing to be open and not just shunning of any idea that might mention God. Why is it fair to teach evolution in schools, but not give any thought to the other side of the issue."

"I have to comment on question 6 because I cannot say religion and science agree necessarily but both inform and compliment each other. Where science is more tangible in many cases, religion is much more experiential and often facts and experience do not mesh yet still co-exist on the same plane."

"Refer to question three, their is a difference between natural selection and evolution. Natural selection is proven; it is a science. Evolution requires a missing link....which is still missing ironically."

"It is easier to believe in evolution because it requires to accountablity."

"Intelligent Design should not be discussed in schools because it is complete opinion and not scientific. It should not be given any credit of attention it doesn't deserve."

"It's quite simple really. Evolution is simply a theory stating that things evolve. Although Darwin had leanings to an atheistic view, the theory of evolution is most certainly not mutually exclusive with any concept of God, they can actually very feasibly be related. After squaring that away, the debate turns to the concept of intelligent design in schools. Notice how I said the concept of intelligent design and not the "theory" of intelligent design. Inherently, that is the problem with intelligent design and the precise reason it should not be taught in schools. Per our country's foundations upon separation of church and state, science should be taught in schools, but not religion. The theory of evolution is science, because it can be tested through experimentation and proven. Intelligent design's foundations lie upon the concept of God that cannot be tested by experimentation. Its foundations are on words, and no matter how meaningful and accurate those words are, they are not science, and must stay out of the classroom. You'll be hard-pressed to see this resolved in such a sensible way in our fine southern states."

"If you believe the Bible is the entire Truth, you can not believe that we came from monkeys. Rather, we were made uniquely in the image of God!!! Science progresses by disproving theories. God is not a theory that can be disproved and thus is a possibility even in the science realms. To understand God, to understand nature as He made it, to understnd human beings, you can only go so far in the carnal mind and then the spiritual mind must take over, that is why those without God can not understand and must look for other ways to explain us."

"To pretend that the infinite complexity of life is a result of a random process is completely unlogical. Evolution is a theory that has not been practically proven. If so, we should have, for example, diverse kinds of "humankinds" at different stages of evolution at a same era, as the result of diverse ambiental factors. But we find only a human race with similar capabilities. I rather believe in adaptation and development rather than evolution."

"Theology, or religion, is not exclusive of Science and vice versa. Isn't the idea of an interdisciplinary education about recognizing connections between a variety of perspectives on the same topics, including our existence?"

"I'm glad to see this survey opportunity for students! Many of us would like to see Intelligent Design taught alongside Evolution as a viable theory of Creation. There is also considerable evidence in the fossil record to support events such as the Noadic Flood in our own backyard of Glen Rose."

"Evolution should be taught as a theory not as an indisputed fact. Intelligent design is not a science because it cannot be tested. It can, however, be presented as a potential explanation."

"For question 6, I believe the choices are too black/white. They don't always agree; they don't always conflict. I think there's a middle ground."

"Question 6: There are areas in religion that science can prove, and there are also areas that science can not relate to."

"Proponents for the I.D. theory argue that it should be taught in schools, along with evolution, because it is a possibility for the creation of life on Earth which must not be ignored. Its basis, however, is speculative, and the theory cannot be treated scientifically. Because the proof of intelligent design is life itself, it cannot be disproven. Supporting this theory, then, becomes a matter of faith alone, a characteristic of religion- not science. As far as this "belief" being taught as a possibility, would it follow that Genesis should be taught in history classes? Or to be politically correct, shouldn't we then teach the creation myths of all religions as 'possibilities'?"

"It is incompatible to believe that all species evolved from inanimate life forms and then believe that the God of the Bible is real. He must be the cause of life as the Bible states he is in order to be valid. Most importantly, true objective scientists do not own the liberty to tell someone who has good evidence of intelligent design that they are wrong simply on academic presedence or history. There are serious holes in evolutionary biology, none too small as the disparity between the fossil record and natural selection, that can be pointed to as evidence of the seeming order of the universe. This evidence can be supported and upheld into a scientific theory. It is only fear that keeps scientists from changing what they think."

"Science supports Intelligent Design (what God created!!!)"

"I consider myself a spiritual person but I am also logical and evolution makes sense. I think that children should be taught both sides and that they should both be presented in manner that allows for a personal opinion to be formed outside the church."

"Many people believe that Intelligent Design should be taught in schools rather than Evolution. It is considered to be non-religious so that it will not be completely rejected, but I believe it is actually a religious view undercover. This is someone's way of getting the "truth" out to students. Intelligent Design seems to be a good compromise for the two ideas of evolution and God, and gives the student room to determine his/her own beliefs. Evolution is taught in the classroom while religion is rejected because it may interfere with an individuals beliefs. What about the students who believe in God? Does the idea of evolution not interfere with and degrade THEIR beliefs? I myself believe in evolution AND the almighty God, and as a Biology major my views are not altered by the teachings and ideas presented to me in class. Some students may not be as fortunate. They may become easily moved by their studies, finding themselves wrapped up in their school work, and possibly forget their traditional beliefs. The idea of Intelligent Design, although it may have been created in attempt to "sneak" religion into the classroom, is an idea that I believe would be useful to present in future education. It will give individuals space to make their own assumptions and create their own views on life. Intelligent Design is ultimately the exceptional compromise between the belief of Evolution and the Surpeme Deity--God."

"Surely religion and science agree, for they have to agree. God created the Earth and all things therein, but he cannot violate any of his own laws. Science is merely the discovery of what God already knows and has already put in place on this Earth."

"Science points to a higher being, history reveals the Truth of God."