We've seen it most dramatically on the political scene. A majority of Americans say they believe that, yes, their president was probably guilty of behavior that would have most corporation presidents and school principals fired on the spot, but that at the same time, no, such behavior should in no way disqualify him from continuing as president of the United States. But, of course, the behavior of the American public on this issue did not happen in a vacuum. It happened after several generations of that public's having been taught and assured that it is perfectly all right to believe fervently in contradictory lists of evidence. It happened again just a few days ago when the National Academy of Sciences launched a remarkable campaign to accelerate the teaching of evolution in our nation's public schools.
Evolution is the central organizing principle that biologists use to understand the world.
For decades, a lot of rug-slipping has been going on. Now you have generously allowed them to believe everything, without offense to anyone on any side, but also without any insult to their critical faculties. It is, in one sense, the essence of liberal thinking. It's a yeast that infects our evangelical household as well. CCCU is an alliance of 91 institutions in North America with historically evangelical commitments-and I hope that the 800 educators gathered there took Mr. Gallup's remark as a jab at them as well as at the population at large.