Creation

"Creationism is a belief system which postulates that the universe, Earth, and life on Earth were deliberately created by an intelligent being." [creationwiki.org] When applied to science, belief in creation by God is sometimes called "creation science." The most popular form of creationism is found in the United States and is based on the Christian Bible, including literal interpretations of several key points in the Old Testament book of Genesis (the creation of the "heavens and the earth" and the Flood of Noah). One form of Christian Creationism is known as Young Earth (YEC), which holds that all the universe was created a few thousand years ago and that creation occurred in six 24-hour days. Read about the strength and weakness of Creation philosophy as a foundation for science.


Intelligent Design

The official definition is "the theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process." [intelligentdesign.org]. Intelligent Design (I.D.) is not a version of Biblical Creationism nor is it a Creationist program. In fact, I.D. researchers come from many religious and even nonreligious backgrounds. They do not promote any religion or scriptures as part of their investigations.

In April, 2008, the documentary film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed brought I.D. to public attention. The point was about unjust persecution of I.D. proponents. It is a highly controversial movie. Read about the strength and weakness of I.D.


Naturalism

One modern definition of the word "Naturalism" is "all things in the universe can be understood in scientific terms, without spiritual or supernatural explanations." Another is "all phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural, are either false or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses" [wikipedia.org]. Since the 19th Century, Naturalism, when applied to scientific investigations, has become more popular than in previous centuries. It often includes the assumption of the nonexistence of any supreme God that operates on the observable universe, or that designed or created the universe. Read about the strength and weakness of Naturalism.