(CBS) Eldridge is curator of an upcoming exhibit on biologist Charles Darwin, whose studies in the Galapagos Islands led to his landmark publications on the origins of the species 1859 which inspired, as Eldridge puts it, "monumental sea changes in our thinking about who we are and how we came to be."

Darwin theorized that all living things evolved from the same simple organisms. Over countless generations, random mutations, or changes have occurred, with the strongest specimens surviving and reproducing, a process known as "natural selection." That process eventually led to the formation of new species and higher forms of life, including humans.

But in this country, Darwin’s theory met resistance from the outset. Back in 1925, Tennessee high school science teacher John Scopes was put on trial, and banned from teaching evolution.

Today, of course, religion has been banished from the science class.

But now, notes Braver, there’s a court case going on over teaching intelligent design, in Dover, Pa., where the school board says it should be allowed.

Just to show how complicated this issue is, the folks at the Discovery Institute, the major proponents of intelligent design, don't support the school board, because of reports, says Meyer, that, "They justify the policy using an explicit statement of religious purpose, which is not only unconstitutional, it’s incongruous with what we’re trying to do, which is make a scientific case for the idea of intelligent design."

In fact, although Meyer and his colleagues say that the theory of intelligent design is purely scientific, they also say it’s too new to be a requirement in public school science classes.

But they're demanding something else.

"We think," says Meyer, "that students should be informed about the growing criticism of Darwinian evolution."

A small but growing number of scientists now challenge some of the fundamental tenets of Darwinism, Braver reports. They point, for example, to a tiny bacterium, with moving tails, known as flagella, and insist that its intricate workings could not be the result of a genetic accident.

"Well, maybe that’s what they believe, but for biologists, we know differently," remarks biochemist Maxine Singer, who says there are clear evolutionary explanations for this and other issues raised by the intelligent design theory.

A member of the National Academy of Science, and former head of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, she says intelligent design is not science, it’s a leap of faith: "The whole concept of science is, you’re always asking new questions. But, intelligent design says, 'This is the end of questions, because here’s the explanation: Some intelligent designer said this is the way it’s gonna be.' And so, for kids in schools, it closes their minds, not opens them."

What about the argument that students should at least be taught that there’s a controversy over Darwin’s theory?

"There are controversies," Singer replies, "over the mechanisms of evolution, and we should be teaching those. But there is no controversy in science about whether evolution occurs or not."

Nevertheless, Braver says, evolution, the idea that we are all descended from apes, has never been popular in this country.

A new CBS News news poll found that 51 percent of Americans believe God created human beings in their present form. Three states have now adopted policies that would allow teachers to introduce scientific criticisms of the Darwinian theory of evolution.

So it’s no surprise that the question of intelligent design is capturing people’s attention.

President Bush made headlines when he said intelligent design should be taught and, just a week ago, on the program "West Wing," a fictional presidential candidate was asked: "Do you believe the theory of intelligent design and the theory of evolution should be taught alongside each other in public schools?"

The character in the show responded, "Absolutely not. One is based on science, the other based in faith."

That fictional character isn't the only one who thinks so.

John Haught, a research professor of theology at Georgetown University and author of several books on religion and evolution, argues that science is just not equipped to deal with spiritual, or philosophical questions.

"There’s a point in our quest for understanding, it seems to me, where the question of what the ultimate explanation of things is, is quite legitimate and needs to be asked," he says. "But science does not ask ultimate questions. It asks questions about proximate, physical causes."

"So, by definition, science is just not wired to pick up any signals of some ultimate intelligence or ultimate wisdom," Haught adds.

But at the Creation Museum in Kentucky, Ham says the theory of intelligent design is going to reopen debate in this country about religion in the science classroom.

"At least they’re starting to get people to think about the issue," Ham says. "They’re battling it in public. And I believe you’re gonna see a lot more. You’re seeing that culture war in America, and you’re gonna see that culture war heat up."

That means, concludes Braver, that the answers to age-old questions — like who we are and why we're here — may remain as elusive as ever.

©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Back To Top