What is intelligent design?

The theory of intelligent design says that life is so complex that it must have been designed by a higher intelligent being, and not evolved by natural selection - as Charles Darwin argued and the vast majority of scientists now believe. Followers argue that the scientific community is not as convinced by evolution as we are led to believe, and urge that we should be more critical in our consideration of evolution.



Is there any scientific evidence for intelligent design?

No.

Is there any scientific evidence for evolution?

There's an HIV strain mutating as you read this, there's a fossil record going back millions of years - where do you want to start?

So why do intelligent people believe in intelligent design?

Many Christians and Muslims see the theory of evolution as undermining belief in God - a view militant atheists, like Richard Dawkins, the bestselling British biologist, and the American philosopher Daniel Dennett, are also keen to promote. On the other hand there are plenty of distinguished scientists who believe in God - Lord Winston or the late Stephen Jay Gould, for instance. The mainstream churches, including the Catholic church and the Church of England accept evolution.

There is also a widespread misunderstanding that the process of evolution is somehow random and "God doesn't play dice". Mutation of genes is random, but there is nothing random about the operation of natural selection - if an organism isn't fit for purpose, it doesn't survive.



Is intelligent design another name for creationism?

Intelligent design does share a number of similarities with creationism, and the phrase appears in several examples of creationist literature. They both argue that evolution is unable to account for the vast array of species, and both promote the concept of a designer.

There are differences. First, intelligent design accepts that the earth is millions of years old, not adhering to the creationist, biblically derived argument that the earth was created some 6,000 years ago. But this was not enough to convince a court in Pennsylvania that intelligent design was scientific as opposed to a religious belief, and in 2005 schools in the town of Dover were banned from teaching it.

Intelligent design accepts that species do undergo small amounts of change, whereas creationists believe that all forms of life were created in their current form at the time of the earth's creation. However intelligent design claims that these changes are the result of a guiding hand, not the result of random genetic mutations and natural selection.



Is intelligent design taught in UK schools?

There were accusations that creationism and intelligent design were being taught in academies funded by the Christian philanthropist Sir Peter Vardy, although the schools denied this.

Earlier this year the government - prompted by revelations in the Guardian - stepped in to forbid the use of teaching materials advocating intelligent design circulated by a group called Truth in Science.

However intelligent design and creationism can be discussed in religious education lessons or under the heading of history of science. This is what the Church of England's head of education, the Rev Jan Ainsworth, is apparently advocating.



What does flying spaghetti have to do with any of this?

A recent development has been the growth of so-called Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, a satirical "religion" created by Bobby Henderson, a physics graduate of Oregon State University. He wrote to the Kansas Board of Education in June 2005 alerting them to the many people who believe that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe, and demanding that science lessons be split three-ways: "One third time for intelligent design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence."

Henderson's point is that the concept of a Flying Spaghetti Monster is every bit as rational a concept as intelligent design. He has received sympathetic responses from members of the board who also oppose intelligent design, as well as attracting overwhelming support from "followers" all over the world.