The spring 2005 issue of California Wild features "In my backyard: Creationists in California," by NCSE executive director Eugenie C. Scott. Beginning by alluding to the evolution warning labels in Cobb County, Georgia, she comments, "Many Californians chalked up this example of the persistent creationism/evolution controversy to the fact that it happened in, well, Georgia. They were no doubt thinking, I'm glad this problem is not in my backyard." But, as she proceeds to explain, creationism is alive and well in the Golden State, home to the Institute for Creation Research as well as any number of influential creationists, from young-earth proponents like Henry M. Morris to intelligent-design advocates like Phillip Johnson. And controversies over evolution education at the local level are not uncommon: Scott devotes a portion of her article to reviewing the situation in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville in detail. Concluding, she writes, "Although California is on the cutting edge of scientific research, proponents of teaching creationism in the public schools are nonetheless banging on the doors. ... California is not immune to creationism and antievolutionism -- it is in our backyard." California Wild is published by the California Academy of Sciences, of which Scott is a Fellow.
April 15, 2005