Is Creationism Racism

Creationism – the ideology – has hidden consequences that belie it’s metaphysical / intellectual you say tomato type syllogism. Is creationism really just a harmless intellectual exercise?


By: Vanessa Uy


Ever since I started listening to my 78 RPM shellac of the Billie Holiday song Strange Fruit on a regular basis back in 2005, I started to wonder if we, as a society, has really advanced since 1939 the year Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit was released. Sadly, it seems like we are constantly reassured that racism is alive and well. And the proof of this is the Jena High School incident in Jena, Louisiana where the white high school pranksters still think that lynching is fun – in 2007! Scarier still is that this “American Bible-Belt Racism” is based on “their” fundamentalist interpretation of the Holy Christian Scripture.

Ever since proponents of the literal interpretation of the Holy Bible justified Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh, Ireland, in 1650 to conclude that “God” began creating our universe in 9 a.m. on the 23rd of October in 4004 BC. This declaration of dogma –more or less- made Organized Christianity a relatively racist religion that brought us the anti-miscegenation statute of the state of Virginia, the famous Scopes Monkey Trial, to the “Children of Ham” debates between Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Christopher Hitchens. Although the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints / Mormon faith’s “racists” stance has since been reformed. This happened back in 1978 when Spencer W. Kimball, the Mormon Church’s 12th president, proclaimed that the “long-promised day” had arrived, in which every worthy man, black or white, could take up priesthood in the Latter Day Saints.

Despite reforms and the “toning down” of the racist / separatist stance of the Religious Doctrine of various Christian sects, there are some who are still sticking by their “racist” interpretation of Holy Scripture. Like the US Aryan Nation, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ Christian whose battle cry of “ Serve the Lord of Glory and His Holy Race” makes Al-Qaeda look like a bunch of drunken college frat boys in comparison. Plus a host of other racist Christian sects that had almost made it to the mainstream American political process, like the 6th Day Creationists and the Ku Klux Klan.

Despite of the devastating social impact of creationism in present- day pluralistic-Politically-Correct America, President George W. Bush approved the teaching of creationism / intelligent design in public schools a few years ago. Maybe, we still need constant reassurance on the dangers of extreme fundamentalist Christian beliefs like creationism. Even a couple centuries before Archbishop Ussher toyed with the idea, Tomàs de Torquemada ordered during his heyday in the Spanish Inquisition for 2,000 Jews to be burned alive. This incident should have served as a “red flag” on the dangers of fundamentalist beliefs. Yet, the present Bush administration would blame the news about the burning alive of 2,000 Jews by Torquemada on the “Liberal Media”.

To me, the degree of harm that a belief in creationism can inflict upon you probably rests on where your genetic make up lies on the wrong – or – the right side of the Caucasus Mountain Range. In short, Anglo-Saxons never had it so good in George W. Bush’ America. Thank God for Barack Obama for finally talking about that proverbial “Elephant in the Room”.