Online in the Evolution Wars

An Analysis of Young Earth Creationism Cyber-Propaganda

Authors

  • Thomas Aechtner University of Oxford

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.v23i3.277

Keywords:

Evolution Wars, Internet, Cyber-Propaganda, Anti-Evolutionism, Creationism

Abstract

This paper examines the online enterprises of two Christian creationist organizations in the Evolution Wars, the collective debates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries involving various religious beliefs and the theory of biological evolution. In affiliation with these disputes, the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis have employed every available mass media channel to circulate specific notions about faith and evolution worldwide. This paper classifies these mass media efforts as propaganda, and analyzes the online initiatives of both groups using a list of propaganda techniques developed in the work of Jowett and O’Donnell (2006). The resulting analysis exhibits how these organizations are utilizing the Internet, reveals key elements of these online anti-evolutionist enterprises, and briefly considers the significance of Evolution Wars cyber-propaganda.

Author Biography

  • Thomas Aechtner, University of Oxford
    Thomas Aechtner is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford, studying Science and Religion through Exeter College. As the inaugural Arthur Peacocke Scholar, he is currently engaged in a project focused on the propaganda and counter-propaganda of the contemporary Evolution Wars. This involves examining the mass media exploits of Christian creationists, intelligent design theorists, and anti-religious atheist groups. Thomas has previously earned a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta, and has also received an MA in the Anthropology of Religion from the University of Calgary.

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Published

2011-01-28

How to Cite

Aechtner, T. (2011). Online in the Evolution Wars: An Analysis of Young Earth Creationism Cyber-Propaganda. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 23(3), 277-300. https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.v23i3.277