The Centre for Intelligent Design is an

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

, headquartered in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

that promotes the pseudoscientific principle. Article available fro
Universiteit Gent
/ref> Young & Edis 2004 pp. 195-196, Section heading: But is it Pseudoscience? of

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

Organisation

The Centre for Intelligent Design's activity is organised under a charitable trust governed by the laws of Guernsey,

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

, but (as of October 2010) consists of only a website and an office. The purpose of the centre is not to finance or undertake research into intelligent design, but rather to conduct advocacy and public relations for the idea. Its director, Alastair Noble, is a former

school inspector A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

, currently working for CARE, a Christian charity campaigning for more

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

in schools, as its education officer. The centre's president is Norman Nevin, emeritus professor of medical genetics at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

in Belfast, and its vice-president is David Galloway, former president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Controversy

Commenting on the Centre for Intelligent Design,

Michael Reiss Michael J. Reiss (born 1960) is a British bioethicist, educator, and journalist. He is also an Anglican priest. Reiss is professor of science education at the Institute of Education, University College London, where he is assistant director, res ...

as Professor of Science Education at the

Institute of Education IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society (IOE) is the education school of University College London (UCL). It specialises in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and is one of UCL's 11 constituent faculties. Prior to m ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, said that the overwhelming scientific consensus is that the arguments against the theory of evolution promoted by intelligent design advocates are invalid, and students should not be given a false impression about the subject. In November 2010 the

British Centre for Science Education The British Centre for Science Education (BCSE) is a volunteer-run organization in the United Kingdom that has the goal of "countering creationism within the UK" and was formed to campaign against the teaching of creationism in schools. Activiti ...

reported on a potential of the Centre for Intelligent Design to damage education in Scotland as well as in Northern Ireland, due to lack of safeguards against creationism and the power of the creationist organisations. In April 2011 an article was published in the Scottish newspaper '' The Herald'' which said that "critics have pointed to the leaders'

fundamentalist Christian Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

backgrounds and the leaps of faith inherent in their logic." Its president was quoted as saying that he believed

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

was a real person, that the universe was created in six days, and that the story of

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

and the

Ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

was historical. Its director denied that the idea that the initial spark creating the universe was caused by a universal engineer or

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

was religious.

References

{{reflist

External links

Centre for Intelligent DesignCross Rhythms: Alastair Noble on Intelligent Design
Intelligent design movement Intelligent design organizations Organizations established in 2010 Organisations based in Glasgow 2010 establishments in Scotland