--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American creationist movement has…" description: "\"The American creationist movement has entirely bypassed the scientific forum and has concentrated instead on political lobbying and on taking its case ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/kenneth-r-miller-17867_cases_the-american-creationist-movement-has-en_213749.png" --- # The American creationist movement has entirely bypassed… ![“The American creationist movement has entirely bypassed the scientific forum and has concentrated instead on political lobbying and on taking its case to a fair-minded electorate... The reason for this strategy is overwhelmingly apparent: no scientific case can be made for the theories they advance.” quote by Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/kenneth-r-miller-17867_cases_the-american-creationist-movement-has-en_213749.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/kenneth-r-miller-17867_cases_the-american-creationist-movement-has-en_213749.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/kenneth-r-miller-17867_cases_the-american-creationist-movement-has-en_213749.png) > “The American creationist movement has entirely bypassed the scientific forum and has concentrated instead on political lobbying and on taking its case to a fair-minded electorate... The reason for this strategy is overwhelmingly apparent: no scientific case can be made for the theories they advance.” [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The movement avoids scientific debate, focusing on politics because its ideas lack empirical support. **In simple terms:** They sidestep science, using politics instead. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of science‑free arguments. Themes politics science public discourse advocacy Mood skeptical critical concerned Type argumentative educational When to use this quote - election campaigns - policy lobbying - public education - media messaging Key Concepts epistemology strategic communication Questions to Reflect On - How can scientific literacy be improved in political contexts? - What responsibilities do scientists have in public debates? A Different Perspective Political tactics may still influence public opinion despite weak evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creationist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creationist/) [Electorate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electorate/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Forums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forums/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) ## Related quotes > [Well I think fundamentally, what I think surprises me is the creationist movement, and the notion that somehow you can't believe in God if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-winston/well-i-think-fundamentally-what-i-think-surprises-me-is-the/) [Robert Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-winston/) > [We need to talk to voters in large enough numbers and we need to have conversations that are probing and sustained enough that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bruni/we-need-to-talk-to-voters-in-large-enough-numbers-and-we-need-to-have/) [Frank Bruni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bruni/) > [“Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-poe/without-a-winking-smiley-or-other-blatant-display-of-humor-it-is/) Nathan Poe > [ We have concluded that it is not \[science\], and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/we-have-concluded-that-it-is-not-science-and-moreover-that-id-cannot/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [Thus the creationist's favourite question "What is the use of half an eye?" Actually, this is a lightweight question, a doddle to answer. Half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/thus-the-creationist-s-favourite-question-what-is-the-use-of-half-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Creationist critics often charge that evolution cannot be tested, and therefore cannot be viewed as a properly scientific subject at all. This claim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/creationist-critics-often-charge-that-evolution-cannot-be-tested-and/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [If we want to postulate a deity capable of engineering all the organized complexity in the world, either instantaneously or by guiding evolution, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-we-want-to-postulate-a-deity-capable-of-engineering-all-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The main reason for insisting on the universal Flood as a fact of history and as the primary vehicle for geological interpretation is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-morris/the-main-reason-for-insisting-on-the-universal-flood-as-a-fact-of/) [Henry M. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-morris/) > [“A second point that caught my attention was that the very persons who insist upon keeping religion and science separate are eager to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-e-johnson/a-second-point-that-caught-my-attention-was-that-the-very-persons-who/) [Phillip E. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-e-johnson/) > [ I doubt if there is any single individual within the scientific community who could cope with the full range of \[creationist\] arguments without the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/i-doubt-if-there-is-any-single-individual-within-the-scientific/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [I was just at the newly opened Creationist Museum in Kentucky… And they have this exhibit of a giant dinosaur...with a saddle on its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-was-just-at-the-newly-opened-creationist-museum-in-kentucky-and/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [That natural selection can produce changes within a type is disputed by no one, not even the staunchest creationist. But that it can transform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/that-natural-selection-can-produce-changes-within-a-type-is-disputed/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [I am not a creationist as the term is usually understood. I believe that the earth is billions of years old and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/i-am-not-a-creationist-as-the-term-is-usually-understood-i-believe/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the crowning proof of Christianity. If the resurrection did not take place, then Christianity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-morris/the-bodily-resurrection-of-jesus-christ-from-the-dead-is-the-crowning/) [Henry M. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-morris/) ## More by Kenneth R. Miller > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [The argument for intelligent design basically depends on saying, 'You haven't answered every question with evolution,'... Well, guess what? Science can't answer every question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-argument-for-intelligent-design-basically-depends-on-saying-you/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Evolution isn't just a take-it-or-leave-it story about where we came from. It's an epic at the centre of life itself. It tells us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/evolution-isn-t-just-a-take-it-or-leave-it-story-about-where-we-came/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [For much of history it was possible to believe that the great diversity of life on Earth was a fixed creation, that the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/for-much-of-history-it-was-possible-to-believe-that-the-great/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [The simple reason no embryo can develop without at least one X chromosome is that it's the X, not the Y, that is loaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/the-simple-reason-no-embryo-can-develop-without-at-least-one-x/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [A number of well-understood mechanisms, including single gene mutations, produce changes that qualify as macroevolution. These include heterochronic mutations that alter structures by changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/a-number-of-well-understood-mechanisms-including-single-gene/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [From Roger Bacon, the 13th century Franciscan who pioneered the scientific method, to George Lemaitre, the 20th century Belgian priest who first developed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/from-roger-bacon-the-13th-century-franciscan-who-pioneered-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [All too often, the word 'religion' has become identified with those promoting a frankly anti-scientific view of nature and of our place in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/all-too-often-the-word-religion-has-become-identified-with-those/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [We know from astronomy that the universe had a beginning, from physics that the future is both open and unpredictable, from geology and paleontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/we-know-from-astronomy-that-the-universe-had-a-beginning-from-physics/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Modern science developed in the context of western religious thought, was nurtured in universities first established for religious reasons, and owes some of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/modern-science-developed-in-the-context-of-western-religious-thought/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Evolution isn't just a story about where we came from. It's an epic at the center of life itself. Far from robbing our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/evolution-isn-t-just-a-story-about-where-we-came-from-it-s-an-epic-at/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Science is about nature. And God, if he exists, transcends nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/science-is-about-nature-and-god-if-he-exists-transcends-nature/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > ['Intelligent Design,' the relabeled, repackaged form of American creationism, has always had a problem. It just can't seem to produce any evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/intelligent-design-the-relabeled-repackaged-form-of-american/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [We don't regard any scientific theory as the absolute truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/we-don-t-regard-any-scientific-theory-as-the-absolute-truth/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Whether conservative or liberal, fundamentalist or agnostic, the more students learn of biology, the more they accept evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/whether-conservative-or-liberal-fundamentalist-or-agnostic-the-more/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) [Explore all 36 Kenneth R. 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