An Outrageous Notion': 'Science Guy' Bill Nye's New Warning Against Teaching Kids About Creationism

Scientist Bill Nye isn't one to mince words about his views on creationism and evolution. The former host of the "Bill Nye the Science Guy" television program recently weighed in on the debate in Texas surrounding public school textbooks, calling it "a very serious matter" and stating that young earth creationism shouldn't be taught to schoolchildren.

Bill Nye makes a few remarks at a Celebration Of Carl Sagan at The Library of Congress on November 12, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

As TheBlaze has previously reported, the Texas State Board of Education has long debated the presence of evolution in textbooks, with some religious members of the board arguing that creationism should also be included to even the educational score.

Nye is on the side of those opposed to including creationist ideals in a public school setting.

"This textbook business is, to my way of thinking, a very serious matter, because of the economic impact," Nye recently told The Huffington Post. "Everyone should take a moment and think what it will mean to raise a generation of students who might believe that it is reasonable to think for a moment that the earth might be 10,000 years old."

Of course not all creationists embrace young earth creationism -- the idea that the earth may only be 10,000 years old. That in mind, Nye didn't give his views in this interview about other forms of creationism that accept science's time line for the earth's development.

As for young earth creationism, Nye said that the believe is "an outrageous notion" and that it is "inane or silly." He warned that teaching children this ideological construct could lead to some serious societal issues.

"These students will not accept the process of science, which will stifle or suppress innovation," he said of those children who might grow up learning that the earth is only 10,000 years old.

He added, "It's not a religious issue, as such. It's the future of the United States' economy that's at stake."

Nye first voiced his concern about this issue back in Aug. 2012 when he appeared in a Big Think video decrying creationism and praising evolution. He claimed that evolution deniers are damaging children and harming scientific progress, going on to also say that a denial of evolutionary principles isn't good for America.

"When you have a portion of the population that doesn’t believe in that, it holds everybody back, really," Nye said, noting that it’s difficult to make sense of life and to attain the proper answers if one denies the scientific theory. "Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science — in all of biology."

Nye pleaded with parents to educate their children and not to deny what he believes science has fully corroborated.

Texas' State Board of Education recently adopted most science textbooks despite publishers' decision not to include creationist content.

(H/T: Huffington Post)

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