Truth in Science is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...

organisation which promotes the Discovery Institute's "

Teach the Controversy The "teach the controversy" campaign of the Discovery Institute seeks to promote the pseudoscientific principle of intelligent design (a variant of traditional creationism) as part of its attempts to discredit the teaching of evolution in Uni ...

" campaign, which it uses to try to get the pseudoscientific concept of

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

creationism taught alongside

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

in school science lessons. The organisation claims that there is scientific controversy about the validity of

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

evolution, a view rejected by the United Kingdom's

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and over 50

Academies of Science An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

around the world. The group is affiliated with the Discovery Institute, the hub of the

intelligent design movement The intelligent design movement is a neo-creationist religious campaign for broad social, academic and political change to promote and support the pseudoscientific Article available froUniversiteit Gent/ref> idea of intelligent design (ID), which ...

, following its strategy and circulating the Institute's promotional materials. It should not be confused with a United States organisation, The Center for Truth in Science, which was founded in 2020 to dispute various legal/scientific issues which had been flooding the nation's judicial system, such as talc-based powders blamed for causing cancer, Roundup herbicide causing health effects, and various plastic products impacting the environment.

Organisation

According to the their website, the organisation is headed by Joseph Annotti (President and CEO), and Peggy Murray (Research Director). It has three subordinate groups, whose roster (as of February 2022) consisted of:

Board of Directors

* Stephen A. Hyde (Chairman) * Professor Andy McIntosh, Professor of Thermodynamics at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, a Christian and creationist. * Phillip Metcalfe (Vice Chairman), a Christian publisher. * John Perfect, a teacher. * Maurice Roberts, Minister of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) and former teacher of classics. * Steve Taylor, Professor of Electromagnetics and Physical Electronics

Council of Reference

* Stuart Burgess, Professor of Engineering Design at Bristol University, has a Diploma in Theology from the London Reformed Baptist Seminary (of the

Metropolitan Tabernacle The Metropolitan Tabernacle is a large independent Reformed Baptist church in the Elephant and Castle in London. It was the largest non-conformist church of its day in 1861. The Tabernacle Fellowship have been worshipping together since 1650. ...

), and is a

. * George Curry, Minister of Elswick Parish Church (St Stephen and St Paul), Newcastle upon Tyne. * Dr Russell Healey, teacher of mathematics. * Derek Linkens, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, University of Sheffield. * John MacArthur, Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California * Albert N. Martin, Pastor Of Trinity Baptist Church, in Montville, New Jersey

Scientific Panel

* Geoff Barnard * Nick Cowan, retired chemistry teacher. * Paul Garner, lecturer and researcher with Biblical Creation Ministries. * Tim Wells, Senior Lecturer in

Neuroendocrinology Neuroendocrinology is the branch of biology (specifically of physiology) which studies the interaction between the nervous system and the endocrine system; i.e. how the brain regulates the hormonal activity in the body. The nervous and endocrine ...

at Cardiff University.

Critics

The majority of scientists do not consider the conclusions of intelligent design to be scientific. The

National Science Teachers Association The National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), founded in 1944 (as the National Science Teachers Association) and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is an association of science teachers in the United States and is the largest organization ...

and others have termed intelligent design a

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...

, and some have termed it

junk science The expression junk science is used to describe scientific data, research, or analysis considered by the person using the phrase to be spurious or fraudulent. The concept is often invoked in political and legal contexts where facts and scientifi ...

. Little scientific evidence in support of the intelligent design hypothesis has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and intelligent design has never produced a single scientifically testable theory. Ruling, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District 4: whether ID is science

Information pack

In September 2006, Truth in Science sent resource packs on intelligent design to the heads of science of all United Kingdom secondary schools. According to

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...

, 59 schools around the United Kingdom used, or planned to use the Truth in Science information packs. The New Scientist article stated that Truth in Science circulated the material with the intention of countering the teaching of evolution in science classes, and that the information packs "promote the notion that life on Earth was created through intelligent design, a euphemism for the biblical story of creation". The BBC News website reported the reaction to the information packs from the United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills: "Neither creationism nor intelligent design are taught as a subject in schools, and are not specified in the science curriculum. The national curriculum for science clearly sets down that pupils should be taught that the fossil record is evidence for

, and how variation and selection may lead to evolution or extinction." -- ''DfES Spokesperson, BBC News''. Speaking in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, on 1 November 2006, The Right Hon.

Jim Knight James Philip Knight, Baron Knight of Weymouth, (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who served as Minister for the South West and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party an ...

, Labour MP for Dorset South, and Minister of State at the Department for Education and Skills, the Minister for Schools, criticised Truth In Science, their information packs, and intelligent design creationism, citing them as unsuitable for the United Kingdom science curriculum. In answer to a question regarding what the Secretary of State for Education and Skills would do in response to the information packs, Knight said:

Criticism

Religious

In December 2006, Colin Slee, the Dean of Southwark, said: "Everything needs to be explored, so that children can ask sensible questions. Though I see no huge difficulty with exploring intelligent design or creationism or flat Earth, they happen to be misguided, foolish and flying in the face of all evidence. I see no problem with Darwinian theory and Christian faith going hand in hand", -- ''Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark, The Times, December 2006''.
Ekklesia
a United Kingdom theological think-tank accused Truth in Science and the advocates of intelligent design of misrepresenting the bible, and that creationism and intelligent design are not on par with accepted scientific theories. According to one Ekklesia contributor, Geologist and Anglican vicar Michael Roberts, the material on the Truth in Science website is carefully packaged to hide its

young Earth creationist Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widesp ...

roots. Simon Barrow, Ekklesia's co-director, outlined his critique of intelligent design creationism, and pseudo-scientific explanations for the universe: "Creationism and ID are in no way comparable to scientific theories of origins and have no place in the modern science classroom. They also distort mature Christian understandings of the universe as coming into being through the whole world process, not through reversals or denials of that process. The roots of creationism, whether in its ‘hard’ form, or in attenuated ID ideas, lie not in science but in misinterpretations of the Bible. Claims that such notions can be justified from a ‘literal’ reading of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

are nonsensensical. This book has not one, but two ‘creation stories’. They differ widely in detail, are highly figurative, and were written to combat fatalistic Ancient Near East cosmogonies by stressing the underlying goodness of the world as a gift of God, not to comment on modern scientific matters" -- ''Ekklesia, 25 September 2006.''

Secular

In response to the introduction of intelligent design to European schools, the

stated that "intelligent design has far more in common with a religious belief in creationism than it has with science" and raised concerns that "young people are poorly served by deliberate attempts to withhold, distort or misrepresent scientific knowledge and understanding in order to promote particular religious beliefs". In a Guardian newspaper article, dated 27 November 2006, Professor

Lewis Wolpert Lewis Wolpert (19 October 1929 – 28 January 2021) was a South African-born British developmental biologist, author, and broadcaster. Wolpert was best known for his French flag model of embryonic development, where he used the French flag a ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, attacked intelligent design, and the ambitions of Truth in Science: "There is just no evidence for intelligent design, it is pure religion and has nothing to do with science. It should be banned from science classes". In October 2006, a science organisation called ''Science, Just Science'' reviewed the DVD information packs sent by Truth in Science to the heads of science at all United Kingdom secondary schools in September 2006. The UK pro-science advocacy group

British Centre for Science Education The British Centre for Science Education (BCSE) is a volunteer-run organization in the United Kingdom that has the goal of "countering creationism within the UK" and was formed to campaign against the teaching of creationism in schools. Activiti ...

has condemned attempts to introduce the teaching of creationism at British schools. BCSE protested when ''Truth in Science'' sent information packs to every UK secondary school in September 2006. In a letter to the editor, published in

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

, Ian Lowe of BCSE, expressed concern that creationism could possibly flourish even in Britain, while Mike Brass, chairman of BCSE, said in a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "

(ID) is creationism dressed up in a tux to sneak into our science classrooms." On 11 October 2006, a reader, Chris Preedy, wrote a letter to

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

newspaper highlighting "scientific errors" on the Truth in Science website, including that the organisation denies the evolution of bacterial flagellum.Questions for Creationists - The Times - Letters to the Editor.
/ref> In response, Richard Buggs of the Truth in Science scientific panel published a letter in the Times stating:

References

External links

official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Truth In Science Conservative political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Intelligent design movement Intelligent design organizations