New Mexico evolution event scuttled after attack from Intelligent Design creationists

intelligent design vs evolution

Mexico Museum of Natural History canceled a series of events honoring scientist Charles Darwin after two local retired engineers lobbied for discussions on “intelligent design” to be included.

“It’s a very controversial issue,” said James Campbell, one of the men who contacted state officials. “There’s a tremendous body of evidence against Darwinian evolution, and we think people should be aware of that.”

Campbell and Mike Edenburn, both former employees of the Sandia National Laboratories facility in Albuquerque, wrote Gov. Susana Martinez’s (R) office after seeing a flyer for the “Darwins Day” event listing the museum as a co-sponsor alongside groups like the Humanist Society of New Mexico, New Mexicans for Science & Reason (NMSR), and the Alburquerque chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Edenburn told the creationism group the Discovery Institute earlier last month that he and Campbell met with both museum staff and members of Martinez’s staff and asked the facility to apologize for promoting atheism, which they described as a “religious belief.” They also asked that intelligent design be represented at any future events focusing on evolution.

The museum canceled the event without fulfilling the duo’s requests. NMSR president Dave Thomas accused the institute of wanting access to the event so that it could “brag about how wonderful it was that their pseudoscience was presented at a prominent public institution.”

Read full, original article: New Mexico museum scuttles Darwin events after creationists demand ‘intelligent design’ coverage

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