National Academy of Sciences
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a national government agency of the United States. The purpose of the agency is to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government.
It was signed into being by President Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1863, and eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964, and the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Collectively, the four organizations are known as the National Academies.
The National Academy of Sciences is currently comprised of approximately 2,000 members and governed by a Council of twelve members and five officers. Since its inception, all NAS members have been elected by the Academy membership.
Anticreation
According to a 1998 report in the journal Nature, a recent survey found that 93% of NAS members are either atheists or agnostics. The biologists in the National Academy of Sciences were found to possess the lowest rate of belief of all the science disciplines, with only 5.5% believing in God.[1]
The NAS provides "advice on the scientific and technological issues that frequently pervade policy decisions".[2] This advise includes how science should be taught and against the teaching of creation in public schools. Their book, published in 1999 and titled: Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences, states unequivocally that creationism has no place in any science curriculum at any level.[3]
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National Academy of Sciences |
Publications
- Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science The National Academies Press. 1998. 150 page. ISBN-10: 0-309-06364-7
- Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences Second Edition. The National Academies Press. 1999. 48 pages.
Related References
- Leading scientists still reject God by Edward J. Larson. Nature, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313 (1998) Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
- Evangelists for Science Review of NAS publication: Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science by Edward J. Larson. Isis, Vol. 90, No. 3. (Sep., 1999), pp. 558-559.
