Education minister unwilling to state stance on evolution
‘ Old Earth guy’ supports current curriculum, spokesperson says
In the days after Alberta Premier Jim Prentice’s hand- picked education minister Gordon Dirks said he was an “Old Earth guy” — a reference to a doctrine of creationism that generally rejects biological evolution — he declined to comment on whether he accepts the scientifically accepted understanding of evolution.
He supports the current curriculum, clarified Dirks’ spokesperson, David Heyman, but that did not quell interest from rival politicians. Questions about creationism followed, only to be dismissed by Heyman, as efforts by the centre- left Alberta party to corner and embarrass the minister.
It’s been an effective tactic in the past; there has traditionally been no shortage of ridicule for politicians who espouse genuinely held religious beliefs on the subject.
Evolution became a toxic issue for Conservative politicians in the early 2000s. Barney the Dinosaur dolls and whistled renditions of the Flintstones theme song met former federal MP Stockwell Day after he expressed his belief in Young Earth creationism in the early 2000s.
In 2009, researchers balked when federal science minister Gary Goodyear declined to say whether he believed in evolution.
More recently, Progressive Conservative MPP Rick Nicholls drew ire from his own caucus in February when he said it was “not a bad idea” to allow students to opt out of learning evolution. That prompted federal Conservative MP James Lunney, who has long openly expressed skepticism about evolution, to tweet his support for Nicholls.
“I would make the libertarian argument that we should be tolerant of those ( who hold religious views) but there is a real political reality which much be addressed,” said Faron Ellis, a Lethbridge College political science professor who has long written about the Reform movement. “It gives your opponents a tremendous amount of ammunition, to the point of not just discrediting your position on any particular public policy, but also by making you look foolish.”
Irving Hexham, a religion and politics professor at the University of Calgary, said evolution — like abortion — is a divisive issue among evangelical Christians. If politicians from this background come out in favour of the mainstream view of evolution, they risk alienating themselves from their own religious community.
“The whole evolution thing has blown up in North America in a ridiculous way. I don’t think there is any reason why Christians can’t believe in evolution, and throughout the world, a lot of Christians do,” he said.
However, the topic remains contentious among fundamentalists, and evangelical Christians in particular.
Dirks is a former Saskatchewan MLA with a long history as educator, trustee, and an evangelical Christian who has served in leadership positions in religious schools that espouse traditional values. Dirks’ appointment was one of Prentice’s most overt attempts to win over Alberta’s social conservative base shortly after he took office last year.
Dirks said at the time that he would “work to balance the rights of all children and parents and teachers,” but critics have grown increasingly wary of the pastor, particularly after he was slow to express his support for gay- straight alliances in schools.
It should be unsurprising, then, that Dirks would be goaded into taking a stance on evolution. And, considering how far mainstream attitudes on creationism have diverged from evangelical ones, that Dirks would be unwilling to commit to a straightforward answer.
Natalie Odd, an Alberta Party member and mother of two, attended an open house held by Dirks recently, hoping to confront the minister about spending cuts.
After the open house, Odd said she took Dirks aside and began to question him about evolution.
“He said, it’s possible to believe in creation and evolution. I wasn’t getting an answer out of him,” she said. “As we were walking away, he threw up his hands and said: ‘ I’m an Old Earth guy.’”
The comments were confirmed by other attendees, and Heyman.
Odd said she had to look the phrase up on the Internet as she was unfamiliar with it.
Old Earth creationists generally accept that the Earth is older than 10,000 years. Beyond that, however, beliefs range. Some believe that evolution is the mechanism by which God guides life on Earth. Others totally reject the generally accepted scientific theory of biological evolution.