Convocation features Ken Miller, focuses on science and religion

Joshua Latona
Special to the leader

Since Charles Darwin's Origin of Species was published in 1859, revealing his controversial theory of evolution, the debate between creationism and evolution has raged on.

Kenneth Miller, a biology professor at Brown University, has been at the forefront of this debate for the past 25 years. On Sept. 26 he gave a lecture entitled, "Evolution and Design: At the Crossroads of Science and Religion" in Rosch Recital Hall as part of the Convocation lecture series.

"It seemed like something really interesting. I was looking forward to getting his view on how science and religion can mesh and coexist," said junior biochemistry major Christina Golombeck.

The recital hall was mostly packed. Students and faculty were excited to bring Miller to campus.

"When I talk about evolution and ask [students] about their feelings on religion, evolution and intelligent design, there is always a couple students who are not sure about evolution. They are not sure for religious reasons; they have been told that science and religion are not compatible, and I think that Kenneth Miller makes the case very well, that they can be compatible," said Ted Lee, associate professor of biology and chair of the biology department.

While Miller has been known throughout the scientific community for years, the general public did not become aware of him until two years ago when he was brought in as the plaintiff's lead expert witness in Kitzmiller v. Dover, PA Area School District. The case challenged the school board's decision to have the teachers read a statement to their ninth grade biology class about evolution. After reading the statement, they were then supposed to teach their students about intelligent design.

According to the verdict, Judge John E. Jones III decided in favor of the plaintiff. The Dover school board's actions were in violation of First Amendment rights. Jones further mandated that intelligent design be banned from being taught in Pennsylvania's Middle District public school science classrooms. The case brought Miller into the spotlight and he appeared on "The Colbert Report" a month later.

"I do not know what to say about the state of higher education these days because nothing has made me more popular among my students than being on ‘The Colbert Report'," Miller joked. The defense used examples such as bacterial flagellum and the blood clotting cascade to prove their case. They argued that because these biological processes work only with all the components in place, these biological factors could not have evolved.

"Their argument was based upon irreducible complexity," Miller said. "By the time I took the stand I had gathered enough information based upon homologous systems found in other organisms to prove their theory false."

Proponents of intelligent design are promoting it as a new science. The Dover school board was using a guidebook from the Discovery Institute, an organization that promotes the teaching of intelligent design in the classroom. This guidebook recommended using the textbook Of Pandas and People. After the 1987 trial of Edwards v. Aguillard which identified "creation science" as a religious doctrine Miller explained that there was a significant change in the contents of this book.

"The company had to come up with another name otherwise they would not have been able to sell their textbooks. So they used the Microsoft Word's find and replace function. They found 'creation' and replaced it with intelligent design," Miller said.

Miller further explained how promoters of intelligent design have expanded the issue to involve more than just science and how humans were created.

"What has happened is that supporters of creationism and intelligent design have turned this into a cultural war. They believe that the emergence of evolution has led to homosexuality, pornography, divorce, etc. They are saying that if you believe in evolution, you don't believe in God, when that simply is not true," Miller said.

Even though Miller is known for his staunch opposition to creationism, he did not set out to be a leading figure against it. He was content with writing grants and studying cell membranes with his favorite tool, the electron microscope. His introduction into the fire of such a heated debate was simple: his students at Brown had asked him.

"They said there is a guy who is the founder and the head of the Institute for Creation Research in California. He was going to speak on campus and he was looking for someone from the biology, geology or psychology department to debate him," Miller said. "Finally, I told them that I would do it, but that they had to get me a lot of research on the subject because, if I am going to engage in debate with someone, I need to know what I am getting into."

Tickets for this debate were being sold for $1. Initially it was held in a room holding 200 people. By the time the event happened it was moved to the school's hockey arena and sold 3,000 tickets.

That debate took place in 1981 and Miller continued his fight until enough court cases were won in favor of evolution to satisfy him and then went back to his grants and cell membranes. While continuing his work at Brown, he was encouraged to write a biology textbook by one of his former students. Placed on the book was a sticker which told students evolution was only a theory and not fact.

These stickers brought Miller back into the debate once again. In the end, the court found the stickers were unconstitutional and asked that the state to remove them.

In 2000 he published a book entitled Finding Darwin's God. Since its release, the book has sold an average of 1,500 copies a month.

Due to his book, his expert testimony at the Dover trial and his appearance on "The Colbert Report" he has received invitations to speak all over the country. He has been booked in over 20 locations over the next few months. Some of the places he will be speaking at include Wake Forest University, Providence College, Princeton, Colorado and the University of Georgia.

Many scientists agree with Miller's view on how science and religion can still exist together but not influence each other.

"Personal faith does not need to impact, nor should it impact, scientific findings," Lee said.

Despite the setback at Dover, the intelligent design movement is not over. It is a debate that will rage on for years to come and one that Miller is up for.

"The problem with advocates of intelligent design is that they refuse to submit their findings to the scientific community…if an idea has merit and is supported with enough evidence then it would be published in textbooks," Miller said. "The scary part of intelligent design is that they are trying to circumvent the scientific community by using politics to get their ideas into the classroom and to students. That would set a dangerous precedent."