Demarcation as a classroom response to creationism: a critical examination of the National Academy of Sciences’ Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008)

Teaching materials frequently answer objections to evolution by demarcating science from religion. Because definitions of science shaped by demarcation tend to magnify its empirical features, they weaken students’ understanding of science’s theoretical dimension. Demarcation fails to answer creationism for the opposite reason; by insisting that the observable world is the exclusive domain of science, it undermines the core Abrahamic assumption that nature can make meaningful reference to a divine creator. After exploring how demarcation is employed in a booklet designed to guide educators who address evolution and creationism, the National Academy of Sciences’ Science, Evolution, and Creationism (2008), I conclude by proposing a more balanced approach for teaching about NOS and creationism.