Conclusion

Science is not the only way of acquiring knowledge about ourselves and the world
around us. Humans gain understanding in many other ways, such as through
literature, the arts, philosophical reflection, and religious experience. Scientific
knowledge may enrich aesthetic and moral perceptions, but these subjects extend
beyond science's realm, which is to obtain a better understanding of the natural
world.
The claim that equity demands balanced treatment of evolutionary theory and
special creation in science classrooms reflects a misunderstanding of what science is
and how it is conducted. Scientific investigators seek to understand natural
phenomena by observation and experimentation. Scientific interpretations of facts
and the explanations that account for them therefore must be testable by
observation and experimentation.
Creationism, intelligent design, and other claims of supernatural intervention in
the origin of life or of species are not science because they are not testable by the
methods of science. These claims subordinate observed data to statements based on
authority, revelation, or religious belief. Documentation offered in support of these
claims is typically limited to the special publications of their advocates. These
publications do not offer hypotheses subject to change in light of new data, new
interpretations, or demonstration of error. This contrasts with science, where any
hypothesis or theory always remains subject to the possibility of rejection or
modification in the light of new knowledge.
No body of beliefs that has its origin in doctrinal material rather than scientific
observation, interpretation, and experimentation should be admissible as science in
any science course. Incorporating the teaching of such doctrines into a science
curriculum compromises the objectives of public education. Science has been
greatly successful at explaining natural processes, and this has led not only to
increased understanding of the universe but also to major improvements in
technology and public health and welfare. The growing role that science plays in
modem life requires that science, and not religion, be taught in science classes.