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The Need for a Paradigm Shift in Science Advocacy

Gregg R. Davidson, Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677,
USA; Carol A. Hill, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (adjunct), University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
87131, USA; Ken Wolgemuth, Wolgemuth & Associates, LLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74133, USA

Sixteen years into the twenty-first cen- report that nearly three quarters of high- University of California at Los Angeles,
tury, many are dismayed at the resiliency school science teachers are reluctant or and Kurt Wise, a vertebrate paleontologist
of skepticism about science in the United unwilling to teach evolution or ancient who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard under
States. On wide-ranging subjects, such as earth history. According to their survey, the late champion of evolution Steven Jay
vaccinations, genetically modified foods, 13% of science teachers reject evolution Gould. Mental deficiency and poor educa-
climate change, evolution, and the age and outright, while an additional 60% ride the tion are not adequate explanations for
origin of the Earth and universe, a sizable fence, being uncertain of the veracity of belief in creationism.
percentage of the population continues to scientific evidence or simply fearful of
hold and promote views that run counter generating controversy. This not only The one stereotype that is justified is
to common scientific understanding. An means that earth history is not being ade- religious affiliation. All religions, by defi-
oft-cited Gallup poll (2015) illustrates the quately taught, it also means that many nition, disavow purely mechanistic expla-
lack of progress. In 1982, a question was young people are being diverted from nations for our existence, though not all
posed regarding beliefs about human evo- eventual careers in the earth sciences at a are inherently opposed to the findings of
lution. At the time, 44% believed God time when it is predicted that available modern science. Islam, Judaism, and
made humans in their present form. After geologist positions will substantially out- Christianity share a common story of the
a quarter century of improved educational pace college graduates (Wilson, 2014; universe brought into being by a singular
materials, upgraded K–12 science stan- LaDue and Manning, 2015). deity. Within these traditions, beliefs vary
dards, and several successful court battles whether the story is to be properly consid-
to curb anti-science influences, that num- It should be clear at this juncture that the ered as a literal telling of six days of cre-
ber has remained essentially unchanged. strategies employed to improve science ation, or a poetic rendering of God’s action
The last poll in 2014 pegged the number at education and public understanding, while that leaves room for deep time and evolu-
42% (Gallup, 2015). arguably worthwhile, have fallen far short tionary development of life (e.g., Haarsma
of expectations. It is time for a paradigm and Haarsma, 2011; Kaya 2012). Other
Other polls tell a similar story. A 2014 shift. We suggest that this shift needs to world religions, such as Hinduism and
poll by the Associated Press found that come in two parts. The first is a more Buddhism, while adhering to spiritual or
4 out of 10 people in the United States have realistic understanding of the opposition. mystical dimensions of this or other worlds,
doubts about the validity of a 4.5-billion- Modern scientific skeptics are often char- are generally comfortable with the descrip-
year history for the Earth and about the acterized as backward, uneducated, reli- tions of modern science as the visible
evolution of life forms through a process of gious and political conservatives, blindly workings of the natural realm and are not
natural selection. A 51% majority is skepti- adhering to outdated beliefs, who can be at the forefront of anti-science rhetoric.
cal about the “Big Bang” (Borenstein and shamed, browbeaten, educated, or out-
Agiesta, 2014). The Pew Foundation took a voted into submission. Yet, in reality, their For those who have been convinced that
different approach, asking people whether ranks include successful doctors, engineers, science is antithetical to the Bible, the
they thought scientists were in agreement lawyers, business leaders, and politicians Torah, or the Quran, improved secular edu-
on these topics. More than half the people (even presidential candidates). If we sim- cational materials serve no purpose because
surveyed believe scientists are currently plify the discussion to consider just cre- they go unread. Contrary to popular per-
divided on the origin of the universe, and ationists holding to a recent origin of the ception, it is not simply a willful blindness.
more than a third believe scientists still Earth, up to a third are college educated There is a measure of practicality. With all
lack internal consensus on evolution (Funk (Duncan and Geist, 2004). Creationist the material competing for attention, few
and Rainie, 2015). leaders include individuals like John will take the time to read or study material
Baumgardner, a retired Los Alamos engi- that advocates for something they believe is
The outlook for the near future is not neer with a Ph.D. in geophysics from the based on inherently false assumptions, or
encouraging. Berkman and Plutzer (2011) that attacks their fundamental beliefs.

GSA Today, v. 27, doi: 10.1130/GSATG280GW.1. Copyright 2017, The Geological Society of America.

58 GSA Today | July 2017