What are common ideas regarding creationism?
“Creationism” is a very broad term. In the most general sense, it refers to views that reject scientific explanations of certain features of the natural world (whether in biology, geology, or other sciences) and instead posit direct intervention (sometimes called “special creation”) in these features by some transcendent being or power. Some creationists believe that the universe and Earth are only several thousand years old, a position referred to as “young Earth” creationism. Creationism also includes the view that the complex features of organisms cannot be explained by natural processes but require the intervention of a nonnatural “intelligent designer.” The “Additional Readings” section following these questions contains several books that describe the various ways in which the word “creationism” is used.
