The book is already in its 12th edition. Entitled Galileo was wrong, the Church was right, he blithely mixes up Einstein’s ideas on relativity and creationist thinking. According to its two American authors, who present themselves as scientists, the Earth is located at the center of the Universe; the planets and the Sun would revolve around as the Bible indicates. A geocentrism that physicists have already demonstrated for a long time.
To mix physics and beliefs at this point, it was necessary to dare. “But from its original ‘simple’ version, creationism has evolved. Under the term ‘intelligent design,’ it now incorporates scientific elements into its discourse, such as fine-tuning the Universe or parts of theory. of evolution “, notes Efthymios Nicolaïdis, historian, researcher at the historical research institute of the Hellenic National Research Foundation and co-editor ofAlmagest, a scientific journal whose latest issue is devoted to the phenomenon. New attire to better export?
“It seems to work indeed. Not necessarily in France where, over the last twenty years, the teaching of evolution has even been reinforced in our educational system. But, in other countries, creationism is becoming more so. offensive to the point where a real strategy of disinformation is put in place. Everything happens as if there were no longer any restraint, “laments Bernard Godelle, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Montpellier.
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“Until recently, creationism might be considered an American quirk. It is no longer the case. The idea that God made man and the universe is spreading in Asia, in Turkey, in Russia or in Eastern Europe “, alert Efthymios Nicolaïdis. Numerical data are lacking to assess the scale of this breakthrough, but some signs are not misleading. On the Internet, creationist ideas flourish, and social networks offer them an unprecedented sounding board. In addition, the number of claims, even of lawsuits initiated by the supporters of geocentrism is increasing. “Their goal now is to impose their vision in the school and that it be taught in science classes! We would thus mix science and theology, which would of course pose a huge problem”, specifies Efthymios Nicolaïdis.
“Economic, political or religious issues”
For now, the dikes are holding up. “But be careful, in some countries, these requests have partially succeeded. In Serbia, for example, certain teachings relating to evolution were removed from schools before being reintroduced due to the turmoil caused. In Russia, on the other hand, the theory of evolution has disappeared from certain establishments, ”adds the researcher.
“This matter of creationism is not confined just to intellectual debate. Behind it are economic, political or religious issues”, analyzes Michel Blay, philosopher and historian of science, research director at the CNRS. Often this movement is built in opposition to something, for example the way of thinking of Western countries. “The West is not only science with its potentially destabilizing effects, it is also individual freedom. These ideas are very often attacked by creationists in Eastern European countries”, confirms Efthymios Nicolaïdis. There are indeed, within the Orthodox Churches, bishops who do not accept this history of creationism at all, but, according to the specialist, they are increasingly criticized and put in the minority, especially in Russia.
“If creationism did not go beyond the academic challenge, it would be simple. We would quickly converge towards a recognition of the theory of evolution, which remains to this day the only one to account for the structure of biodiversity. Unfortunately, it power issues exist, as is the case in the United States, where conservative ideas serve both as an identity marker and as a mooring point for presidential candidates. Ditto in South America, where creationism serves as a motor for certain branches of the Protestant Church “, specifies Bernard Godelle.
France sheltered for the moment
In France, the situation is not as bad. “However, we strongly feel the segregation between the communities. People feel attacked in their culture, their identity, and suddenly, they are attached to these kinds of ideas. Thus, the children sometimes speak not very rational. Thus, to the question “Why are there several colors of skin?”, Many of them answer: because God used different types of clay to create men “, reports the professor.
Ignorance and the complexity of scientific discourse facilitate conversions. “The evolutionary sciences are far from being able to explain in an extremely precise way everything that occurs in living things. It is therefore quite easy to point out difficulties”, observes Bernard Godelle. “It is difficult to expect from Darwinism and biology the same results as in theoretical physics or in mathematics. Very numerous and complicated, the parameters cannot be easily mastered, which opens the field to criticism”, confirms Michel Blay.
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“Darwinism is often reduced to the law of the strongest. In other words, it is taken out of its initial context by applying it to society to convey a particularly violent message, especially from the point of view of vulnerable people. On the contrary, we should explain to people that biology is used to develop vaccines, to improve plants or to predict the damage of an epidemic “, adds Bernard Godelle. However, in the age of the Internet and social networks, simplistic visions are always one step ahead.
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