For decades, many groups in the U.S., Australia, and some other countries have worked to convince the public that creationism has a scientific basis and have worked through the courts to require public schools to teach creationism as science in the classroom. This assignment has several parts:

1. First, why have courts disallowed creationism to be taught in public science classrooms?

2. Secondly,

Explore the websites of some leading creationist organizations (e.g., Answers in Genesis, Institute for Creation Research, etc.) and summarize some of their basic scientific positions and/or arguments (do not forget Islamic creationist organizations).

Do the same with some of the larger, more general scientific organizations (e.g., American Association for the Advancement of Science, Nature.com, and a plethora of more specialized organizations-such as American Society for Ichthyology and Herpetology, American Astronomical Society, American Chemical Society, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Zoologists and American Ornithologists' Union).

What is required before one can join any (or most) of the creationist organizations (specifically, does one need to sign a faith statement)?

Does one need to sign a similar statement before joining any of the scientific organizations? Which of these two sets of organizations seems most in line with the characteristics of science (i.e., objective,open-minded, etc.)?