There is not one exact definition of creationism, but this one from Henry Morris, one of the founders of the modern creationist movement, described creationism as:
Creation denotes abrupt appearance of basic categories of life without any basic type having descended from some other category, and with no extensive change once the category appears. Lack of change is known as stasis. Fish have always been fish, ever since they first appeared, and dogs have always been dogs. Fish and dogs and all else may have varied a little, but did not come from a common ancestor (Morris, "What You May Not Know About Evolution").
Like Mr. Morris, most creationists believe in something like this. They do not accept that life on earth has evolved, and that organisms (especially humans) are descended from previous species. But even in the creationist community there are varying beliefs. I will attempt to give a brief description of each of the versions of creationism. Most of the article will deal with Christian creationism, since it is by far the most popular in the United States and other western countries, but I will also give some short examples of other forms of creationism. For a more detailed look at creationism, please click here.
Flat Earthers
Flat earth creationists believe that the earth is a flat, circular disc with the North Pole at the center. They also believe that the earth is the center of the universe. Needless to say, flat earth creationists are very few in number. For more information, read Martin Gardner’s Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science or click here.
Geocentrists
Geocentrists believe that the earth is round, but that it is at the center of the universe. The sun, moon, stars, and planets all move around the earth. Like flat earthers, geocentrists are also rare, but there are still geocentrists publishing books and websites. You can find more information on Geocentrists here.
Young Earth Creationists
This is the most common form of creationism. When people speak of creationists they most often mean young earth creationists. According to recent surveys in the USA 45% of the respondents agreed with the statement “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” (Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things, p. 292) Young earth creationists have no problem with the earth orbiting the sun, but they believe the earth and universe to have been created 6,000 years ago. They also believe that a global flood deposited all the fossils and created all the geologic features on the earth, like mountains, valleys, canyons, etc. Like flat earthers and geocentrists, young earth creationists reject modern physics, chemistry, geology, biology, much of ancient history, and just about any form of knowledge that contradicts their religious views.
There are many books and websites for young earth creationists, but I’ll only present a few here: Answering Genesis, ICR and Dr. Dino
Old Earth Creationists
Old earth creationists have no problem accepting that the earth is billions of years old, but they do reject most of evolutionary theory. They believe that all life was specifically created by God. For more information on Old Earth Creationism, please click here.
Gap Creationism
Gap creationists believe that there is a large temporal gap between Genesis chapters I: 1 and chapter I: 2. They believe that there were two creations, one pre-Adamic which was destroyed. God then recreated the world in six days. (Armstrong, Herbert W., Mystery of the Ages. Dodd, Mead, New York, 1985.)
Day Age Creationism
Day age creationists believe that the six days of creation were long periods of time, perhaps millions of years long. They claim there is a rough parallel between Genesis and science, with plants and animals appearing before humans. (Anonymous, Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or Creation? Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Brooklyn, NY 1985)
Progressive Creationism
Progressive creationists accept modern physical science, but reject large amounts of biology. They believe that God created “kinds” sequentially, and the fossil record is an accurate history of life on earth. Progressive creationists believe that evolution occurs within these kinds. God created an original cat kind that later evolved into the many cat species alive today. Many progressive creationists also believe that God is the power behind the Big Bang. You can find more information on Progressive Creationism here.
Intelligent Design Creationism
Intelligent Design creationists can trace their history back to William Paley’s Watchmaker argument. They believe that God can be proven by examining his works. The Watchmaker argument claims that if you found a watch laying on the ground you would assume that it had a designer. So therefore all things in nature must have a designer too. Most of the IDC arguments are along the line of “This is too complex to have evolved; it must have had a designer.” They call this irreducible complexity. They claim structures, like the human eye, blood clotting system, and bacteria flagellum as irreducibly complex. But many do accept some amount of evolution, at least within “kinds”. IDC is often used as an umbrella attack on evolution where creationists of every stripe can unite. IDC also hold that all beliefs about evolution are a kind of philosophical materialism. You can find more information on Intelligent Design Creationishm here.
Evolutionary Creationism
Evolutionary creationists do not deny evolution; they just believe that God caused it to happen. This view is held by many conservative evangelicals. You can find more information on Evolutionaly Creationism here.
Theistic Evolutionists
Theistic evolutionists believe that God created through the process of evolution. They accept modern science. Many theistic evolutionists believe that God does things that are outside the realm of science, like the creation of the soul. This is the official position of the Catholic Church.
Materialistic evolution claims that God did not interfere with evolution. They do not rule out the possibility of the supernatural, but instead say nothing of the role of the supernatural. Philosophical materialists believe that there is no such thing as the supernatural and that the natural is all there is.
Below are some forms of non biblical creationism. They are not as popular as biblical creationism, with the possible exception of Islamic creationism.
Islamic Creationism
Many Islamic creationists can be classified in one of the categories for biblical creationism. Most Islamic young earth creationists get their information from biblical creationist organizations in the USA.
Hindu (Vedic) Creationism
Hindu creationists believe that the earth is very old, far older than what science has established it as. They also believe that humans have existed for billions of years. (Cremo, Michael A. & Richard L. Thompson, Forbidden Archaeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race (Govardhan Hill, Inc., San Diego, CA, 1994))
American Indian Creationism
There are many different creation stories amongst the tribes of American Indians. The most famous recent example is of Kennewick Man which was a 9000 year old fossil Caucasian or possibly Polynesian or Ainu fossil man found in Washington State. According to the belief of the Umatilla Indians, they have always lived in that part of the world. The Umatilla filed suit to gain custody of the remains, but in 2004 the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected their claims.
Raelians
Raelians believe that a highly technologically advanced alien race started life on earth. You can find more information on Raelians here.
Panspermia
Panspermia claims that life originated on other planets, was carried to earth on a meteorite or other cosmic body, and life evolved from there. You can find more information on Panspermia here.
Catastrophic Evolution
Life on earth was caused by great astronomical catastrophes. Immanuel Velikovsky’s books Earth in Upheaval and Worlds in Collision have this view. Velikovsky states that a huge comet slammed into Jupiter, which caused the planet Venus to erupt from it. When Venus passed close to earth, it caused worldwide disaster, like a global flood.
For more information, please visit our Resources section or discuss it in our Forum.
