A mainstream scientist wants Christian-run educational institutions offering creationist courses and degrees that deviate from the "national norm" to be held to a "higher academic standard." Christian intellectuals present counter-arguments.
In response to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's (CHEA) deliberation on the continuing accreditation of Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), Dr. Joshua Swamidass, a biologist from Washington University, is pushing to raise the standards applied to creationist institutions.
"Credit from courses that include creation science should not be used toward science degrees, nor should they be eligible for transfer to secular institutions," said Swamidass as quoted by CBN from his op-ed published on the Wall Street Journal.
He stated in his preliminary comments that it isn't really "a tension between religion and science" but whether "Americans can live alongside each other while disagreeing about the most important issues."
Speaking as a research scientist though, Swamidass still believes that any deviation from "national norms in a science curriculum need to be prominently disclosed, tracked and reported." He clarified that college courses, not students, are the ones that should be tracked and reported.
A higher standard
Swamidass, a self-confessed Christian, argued that secular institutions "should accredit and recognize creationist insitutions," and that creationist institutions should be held to the same standards of "academic freedom" and transparency given to other academic institutions, particularly secular institutions.
He added that his proposal aims to protect students and faculty from overreach by administrators. He also indicated that the "negative reaction" that arose from following his proposal was "expected," particularly because his article in the WSJ is behind a paywall, "which has made it easier to mischaracterize."
Nevertheless, Swamidass continues to advocate for the protection of students and faculty from administrator overreach, and for creationist institutions to be given a higher standard than some are currently being held.
Others weigh in
David Klinghoffer, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, praised Swamidass' dedication to academic freedom, moderation & tolerance.
In his own column for Evolution News and Science Today, Klinghoffer wrote that Swamidass' idea of "reasonable" compromise by the "invidious labeling" of creationists' thinkers is a dangerous proposition.
"Invidious labeling is all about reward and punishment....and this is a very dangerous concept," he wrote and explained that once considered, "Swamidass plan could be extended to other courses."
"From the sciences, once the rationale about 'national norms' is accepted, I don't see any reason why the labeling or othering concept should not be expanded to cover areas of education where other out-group ideas are discussed, whether political, cultural, or philosophical," added Klinghoffer.
"With increasingly aggressive censorship by Big Tech, racial indoctrination in the workplace, and state-imposed lockdowns approaching a one-year anniversary, it has felt, more and more, like we are living in China. If the Swamidass proposal were accepted, it would be a step further in that direction," Klinghoffer also noted.
Adding to this discourse on the credibility of Christian college degrees on science, Ken Ham argues that creationists can become legitimate scientists. Noting that there's a difference between "historical science" (beliefs about the past) and "observational science," Ham directs readers to check Answers in Genesis.
Ham, a creationist himself, also pointed out that it's the secularists "who are actual anti-science" because they end up rejecting factual natural laws in their effort to undermine the idea that there's a Creator who created every living being on earth.
"At Answers in Genesis, we have many PhD scientists who are also involved in teaching the different disciplines of science to the younger generations," assured Ham.
"We have a lab at the Creation Museum where we run Science Labs throughout the year. But we don't have enough room for all those students who want this training," he continued and added that these students will learn great observational science and true historical science based on a Christian Worldview.
Can creationists be scientists? Well, secularists who adopt the religion of naturalistic evolution say they can't. But...
Posted by Ken Ham on Monday, March 22, 2021
UPDATE (March 23. 9:02 AM): Reworded title and clarified Dr. Swamidass' proposal to have college courses, not students, tracked and reported for transparency. Dr. Swamidass reached out to Christianity Daily to clarify that he is not advocating the tracking of students, or the barring of creationist course students from science degrees. He is actually opposed to this policy "as an invasive and wrong intrusion on student freedom." Our apologies for the misleading content.
