As I was walking through the Brickyard on my way to class Monday, I stumbled across a large black display labeled “Darwin’s radical theory” in red, eerie-looking letters, among other related presentations. Upon further inspection I realized that this smear campaign against evolutionary theory was the work of a pseudoscientific group of evangelists known as “Christian scientists.” Specifically, it is the work of a creationist named Tom Short.

I must preface my disagreement with this group by stating that I have no qualms with religion. Moreover, I think that religious belief and science are reconcilable. What I do have a problem with is uneducated fundamentalists peddling utter nonsense as legitimate science and denouncing some of the most well-established theories in biology while on the campus of a public educational institution. 

I’m not going to lecture you about why the theory of evolution is true for the same reason I would not try to prove the theory of gravity is true if these people disputed it. Creationism is an argument that is given too much credit if it is taken seriously at this point in history. Moreover, there are plenty of people out there who are much more qualified to dispute these claims than I.

However, one thing I am (and anyone else is) qualified to say is that these people don’t understand that evolution is no longer a debate. Sure, it’s a theory, but gravity and relativity are also theories. Evolution is supported by an irrefutable body of evidence from the scientific community vis-à-vis the fossil record, biochemistry and physiology.

That is why almost every scientific society on the planet has directly issued statements citing evolution as the cause of biological diversity, thereby rejecting the proposals of intelligent design. About 99.9 percent of scientists accept evolution according to Brian Alters, founder and director of the Evolution Education Research Center.

What is interesting about the posturing of these “scientists” is that they obnoxiously take their arguments into the public realm where everyone is forced to see them. When is the last time you saw a real scientist doing this? 

Have you ever seen a bunch of infographics held by a biologist at a college campus trying to prove that evolution is real? Of course you haven’t. 

That’s because evolution is a scientific fact. If you want to find evidence for it, you can consult a biology textbook, go to a museum or just Google it. There is simply no need for a fringe, outspoken man running around and trying to convince you of it in your day-to-day life — the evidence speaks for itself.

I would defend to the death the right of people to say what they want. However, I would much prefer that creationists don’t — at least, not on college campuses. I don’t think these people would react too kindly to people who believe in evolution going into their churches and disputing their beliefs. College is where science happens. Churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship are where religion happens. They are both fine the way they are, so let’s keep it that way. 

Ultimately what these people are doing is unnecessarily perpetuating the divide between religion and science, making religion look unreasonably bad along the way. They assert that if you really believe in God, you won’t believe in mainstream science. This is a divisive ideology that we could do very well without in this country.

Religion and science should bring people together. We would all benefit from making sure that we don’t let these people tear them apart.