Themes and problems of creationism research
pp. 69-85
in: , Creationism and anti-creationism in the United States, Berlin, Springer, 2019Abstract
Creationism research is closely tied to the struggle over its position in American society. This is, in part, due to the fact that cultural and social sciences tend to focus on phenomena that are of great cultural and social importance. Research on creationism is particularly strong during times when it is an acute political or educational issue, because many researchers take a positive or negative stance toward creationism, and aim to limit (or, in some cases, support) its societal influence. This, of course, does not mean that the findings of this research are necessarily invalid or flawed. However, we will see that in many cases the concepts social scientific research employs to shed light on creationism are very similar to those the creationists (and anti-creationists) themselves use in their conflict with each other. This poses a problem for social scientists who are interested in value-neutrality in their research. In particular, it is the widespread use of the notions of 'science" and "religion" which lead to this problematic closeness of research concepts to the language and strategies of the creationists and anti-creationists.