--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, then, do I continue to claim that…" description: "\"Why, then, do I continue to claim that creationism isn't science? Simply because these relatively few statements have been tested and conclusively refu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-cre_1950018.png" --- # Why, then, do I continue to claim that creationism isn't… ![“Why, then, do I continue to claim that creationism isn't science? Simply because these relatively few statements have been tested and conclusively refuted.” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-cre_1950018.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-cre_1950018.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-cre_1950018.png) > “Why, then, do I continue to claim that creationism isn't science? Simply because these relatively few statements have been tested and conclusively refuted.” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creationism lacks empirical support; it is not scientific because it cannot be tested or falsified. **In simple terms:** Creationism is not science. Key Takeaway Recognize scientific standards. Themes science skepticism education Mood critical thoughtful Type educational analytical When to use this quote - classroom debates - public policy - science communication Key Concepts philosophy methodology Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define a scientific claim? - How do we respect beliefs while upholding scientific rigor? A Different Perspective Some may argue that personal belief systems have value despite lacking scientific proof. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Claim Creationism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claim-creationism-3158520/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Conclusively Refuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusively-refuted-3158521/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creationism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creationism/) [Creationism Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creationism-isn-3158519/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Refuted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuted-506850/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Statements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statements/) [Tested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tested/) ## Related quotes > [It’s dead obvious that creationism isn’t science, or even bad science. It’s nonsense. But I’ve long stated it’s also bad religion, because it doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-plait/it-s-dead-obvious-that-creationism-isn-t-science-or-even-bad-science/) [Phil Plait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-plait/) > [The absence of fossil evidence for intermediary stages between major transitions in organic design, indeed our inability, even in our imagination, to construct functional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-absence-of-fossil-evidence-for-intermediary-stages-between-major/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [As in 1925, creationists are not battling for religion. They have been disowned by leading church men of all persuasions, for they debase religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/as-in-1925-creationists-are-not-battling-for-religion-they-have-been/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Evolution has encountered no intellectual trouble; no new arguments have been offered. Creationism is a home-grown phenomenon of American sociocultural history-a splinter movement ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/evolution-has-encountered-no-intellectual-trouble-no-new-arguments/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > ['Creation science' has not entered the curriculum for a reason so simple and so basic that we often forget to mention it: because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/creation-science-has-not-entered-the-curriculum-for-a-reason-so/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The enemy is not fundamentalism; it is intolerance. In this case, the intolerance is perverse since it masquerades under the "liberal" rhetoric of "equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-enemy-is-not-fundamentalism-it-is-intolerance-in-this-case-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Many witnesses to the shooting of Michael Brown made statements inconsistent with other statements they made and also conflicted with the physical evidence. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-p-mcculloch/many-witnesses-to-the-shooting-of-michael-brown-made-statements/) [Robert P. McCulloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-p-mcculloch/) > [“In modern times an idea can be refuted, yes, but not retracted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/in-modern-times-an-idea-can-be-refuted-yes-but-not-retracted/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“The discovery of instances which confirm a theory means very little if we have not tried, and failed, to discover refutations. For if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-discovery-of-instances-which-confirm-a-theory-means-very-little/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Never underestimate the power of bad ideas. They must be refuted again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/llewellyn-rockwell/never-underestimate-the-power-of-bad-ideas-they-must-be-refuted-again/) [Llewellyn Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/llewellyn-rockwell/) > [A sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-steinitz/a-sacrifice-is-best-refuted-by-accepting-it/) [Wilhelm Steinitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-steinitz/) > [“What does it mean, anyway, to 'retract' what you've said? How can anyone state categorically that a thought he once had is no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/what-does-it-mean-anyway-to-retract-what-you-ve-said-how-can-anyone/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The accusation that President Clinton cares deeply about nothing is refuted by his tenacious and guileful battle to prevent any meaningful limits on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-accusation-that-president-clinton-cares-deeply-about-nothing-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [For a theory to be scientific it must be capable of being refuted by the evidence. Given that we have had three decades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lilley/for-a-theory-to-be-scientific-it-must-be-capable-of-being-refuted-by/) [Peter Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lilley/) > [Laughter and tears may not persuade, but they cannot be refuted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/laughter-and-tears-may-not-persuade-but-they-cannot-be-refuted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. 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The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. 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