---
title: "Creation and evolution in public education"
chunk: 4/5
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_and_evolution_in_public_education"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:29:59.849061+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Turkey ===
In Turkey, a country where the majority of population is Muslim, evolution is often a controversial subject. Evolution was added to the school curriculum shortly after the Turkish Revolution of the 1920s and 30s. There was some resistance to this, such as that of Said Nursî and his followers, but opposition was not particularly powerful. In fact, some prominent Turkish scholars during the first decades of the new-born Turkish republic, such as Ahmet Hamdi Akseki (d. 1951), who once served as the President of Religious Affairs of Turkey, and İzmirli İsmail Hakkı (d. 1946) thought that the theory of evolution cannot be seen as contrary to Islam because it was already to be found in the classical works of Muslim theology. In the 1980s, conservatives came into power, and used the ideas of scientific creationists in the US as a method of discrediting evolution (notwithstanding material on the age of the Earth, which Islamic creationism is less specific about).
One anti-evolutionist group in Turkey is the Istanbul based Bilim Araştırma Vakfı (BAV), or "Science Research Foundation," which was founded by Adnan Oktar in 1990. Its activities include campaigns against the teaching of evolution. It has been described as one of the strongest anti-evolution organizations outside of North America. US based creationist organizations such as the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) have worked alongside them. Some scientists have protested that anti-evolution books published by this group (such as The Evolution Deceit (1999) by Harun Yahya) have become more influential than real biology textbooks. The teaching of evolution in high schools has been fought by Ali Gören, a member of parliament and professor of medicine, who believes such education has negative effects.
The situation is very fragile, and the status of evolution in education varies from one government to the next. For example, in 1985 the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports Vehbi Dinçerler had scientific creationism added to high school texts, and also had the discredited Lamarckism presented alongside Darwinism. Only in 1998 was this changed somewhat, with texts presenting a more balanced view, though still mentioning creationism and Lamarckism. At present the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party, which is sympathetic to creationist views, holds power. It was elected in 2002 and again with a greater majority in 2007.
In general, material that conflicts with religious beliefs is highly controversial in Turkey. For example, in November 2007 a prosecutor launched a probe into whether Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion (2006) is "an attack on religious values." If convicted, the Turkish publisher and translator, Erol Karaaslan, would have faced a prison sentence of inciting religious hatred and insulting religious values. In April 2008, the defendant was acquitted by a court and a judge ruled against banning the book due to the fact that it limited freedom of thought.
Turkish academics who have defended evolutionary theory have received death threats, for instance Turkish biologist Aykut Kence received an email telling him to enjoy his "final days." Kence helped establish the Evolution Group, whose aim is to improve public understanding of evolution. However, opposition to creationism is not very powerful; Umit Sayin, a neurologist, describes academics and universities as "slow and sluggish" in their response. Kence maintains that "if knowledgeable people keep quiet, it only helps those who spread nonsense."
In June 2017, the education ministry announced the removal of evolution from the secondary school curriculum, scheduled to take effect in 2019; as of the date of the announcement the only other Muslim majority country where evolution is challenged in the education system was Saudi Arabia, where the concept is briefly named and heavily criticized in the curricula.

=== United Kingdom ===
In each of the countries of the United Kingdom, there is an agreed syllabus for religious education with the right of parents to withdraw their children from these lessons. The religious education syllabus does not involve teaching creationism, but rather teaching the central tenets of major world faiths. At the same time, the teaching of evolution is compulsory in publicly funded schools. For instance, the National Curriculum for England requires that students at Key Stage 4 (14–16) be taught:

that the fossil record is evidence for evolution
how variation and selection may lead to evolution or extinction
Similar requirements exist in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In 2003, the Emmanuel Schools Foundation (previously the Vardy Foundation after its founder, Sir Peter Vardy) sponsored a number of "faith-based" academies where evolution and creationist ideas would be taught side-by-side in science classes. This caused a considerable amount of controversy.
The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has expressed his view that creationism should not be taught in schools.
An organisation called Truth in Science has distributed teaching packs of creationist information to schools, and claims that fifty-nine schools are using the packs as "a useful classroom resource." The government has stated that "Neither intelligent design nor creationism are recognised scientific theories and they are not included in the science curriculum. The Truth in Science information pack is therefore not an appropriate resource to support the science curriculum." It is arranging to communicate this message directly to schools.
The teaching of creationism and intelligent design in schools in the UK is being opposed by the British Centre for Science Education (BCSE).
Some Democratic Unionist Party DUP politicians have called for creationism to be taught in schools.

=== United States ===