Discovery Institute

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The Discovery Institute is a Christian Conservative think tank based in Seattle , Washington . She became known for her funding of the intelligent design campaign.

history

The institute was founded in 1990 by Bruce Chapman, a conservative ex-politician and former employee of the Reagan administration, in Seattle , Washington , USA. The forerunner of the Discovery Institute was a branch of the conservative Hudson Institute from Indianapolis, which in turn had been founded in 1961 by Herman Kahn , a cold war theorist .

aims

According to the company, the aim is to make positive visions of the future practically feasible, with the economic focus on securing free markets and socially on the relationship between civil rights and individual responsibility. When considering these points, it is assumed that there is a belief in a God-given reason and the immutability of human nature.

The institute produces and disseminates media in which ostensibly scientific methodology is used to prove conservative and evangelical perspectives. These include, for example, films that promote a neo-creationist worldview known as intelligent design , attempting to create the impression that this is a scientific theory and that it is on an equal footing with the biological theory of evolution. The overwhelming majority of American scientific associations deny that intelligent design is scientific. Another essential goal of the institute is to carry out lobbying work at the US state and federal level with the intention of promoting its neo-creationist goals, for example to establish the idea of ​​creation as a scientific theory in science teaching in public schools.

A strategy paper by the Discovery Institute appeared on the Internet in 1999, the so-called Wedge Document. This document gave the public a closer look at some of the institute's goals that were not known to the public. For example, under the main goals it says: "To replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and human understanding are created by god" (in German something like: "Replacing materialistic explanations with a theistic view that nature and man created by God." were "). The goal of dominating this divine idea of ​​creation, also as a basis for scientific explanations, should be achieved, among other things, by publishing 30 books on the subject within five years. After the Discovery Institute did not provide any information on the authenticity of the document for years, it admitted the authenticity in a published statement in 2005.

Main topics

The Institute's first public political appearances included secular, mostly conservative topics; such as the strict enforcement of laws or a conservative fiscal policy, but also topics such as the development of an innovative transport infrastructure in the surrounding Pacific coast region ( Cascadia project).

Center for Science and Culture

In 1996 the Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC), was founded as a division of the Discovery Institute. Since then, it has been a linchpin of the intelligent design movement and is closely linked to it in the public eye. In addition to intelligent design , which was introduced as subject matter in US public schools by the Discovery Institute and others. a. is supported by controversial campaigns and the slogan "Teach the Controversy", the areas of interest of the Discovery Institute also include topics of bioethics, for example current stem cell research, as well as religion in public life. In doing so, it usually takes the position of evangelical Christians. This and also the background of the leading personalities, the funding from foundations mainly focused on Christian missionary work, as well as the classification of the intelligent design movement as neo-creationist mean that the Discovery Institute, even if it continues to pursue secular projects such as the Cascadia project persecuted, is now widely regarded as a think tank of the Christian right.

The Discovery Institute also addresses other preferred issues of the conservative right. It is considered to be a stronghold of climate change deniers who deny global warming or its human authorship.

Leading personalities

Bruce Chapman is the president. Vice Presidents are Steven J. Buri and Stephen C. Meyer. The latter is also the program director of the Center for Science and Culture.

The Directory consists of 15 members and is primarily made up of conservative Christians. For example, board member Howard Ahmanson is known for his at least earlier ties to Christian Reconstructionism . He told The Orange County Register (1985): "My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives." (In German, for example: My goal is the complete integration of biblical law into our lives.)

In addition to these members, associates are also listed, whereby not only Christians are listed, but also, for example, the Orthodox Jew David Klinghoffer .

The Center for Science and Culture is led by Program Director Stephen C. Meyer and Associate Director John G. West. The Senior Fellows of the Center for Science and Culture include evangelical Christians such as William Dembski and the Catholic Michael Behe as well as the supporter of the Unification Church Jonathan Wells and the agnostic evolutionary critic David Berlinski .

financing

The institute is a non-profit organization that is financed by donations, company and individual contributions as well as membership fees.

The majority of the financial support is provided by religious foundations, which expressly state proselytizing as a goal in their statutes. In addition to Philip F. Anschutz and Roberta and Howard Ahmanson (Fieldstaed & Company, H. Ahmanson is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Discovery Institute), z. Supporters include the two Stewardship Foundation, which focuses on evangelical Christian missionary work, and the Maclellan Foundation.

In addition to these Christian conservative donors, some of the Discovery Institute's projects are also supported by secular foundations. In 2000 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored the Cascadia traffic infrastructure project with one million dollars and in 2003 promised further funding for the project with a total of 9.35 million dollars over ten years. Several other secular foundations also sponsored this Cascadia project of the Discovery Institute. After journalists made these foundations aware of the Discovery Institute's connections to the intelligent design campaign, which was classified as pseudo or non-scientific in the academic field, their spokesmen distanced themselves from intelligent design and emphasized that the funding would be used exclusively for the Cascadia project.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ according to information on the institute's website ( memento from July 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Forrest, Barbara / Gross, Paul R .: Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design. Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-19-515742-7
  3. ↑ Wedge Document, as it originally appeared on the Internet (PDF; 549 kB)
  4. ^ Statement by the Discovery Institute including the full text of the Wedge document ( Memento of May 12, 2005 in the Internet Archive ).
  5. ^ Discovery's Creation ( February 7, 2006 memento in the Internet Archive ) Roger Downey in the Seattle Weekly
  6. ↑ Intelligent Design: Where's the Science? , Spectrum of Science p. 110, October 2005 (PDF)
  7. ↑ Die Welt : McCain Enters the Race for President , March 1, 2007
  8. ^ The strength of their conviction by PETER LARSE in The Orange County Register
  9. ↑ The Financier of the Dear God ( Memento of September 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Cicero of December 22, 2005
  10. ↑ Nina Rehfeld: The Trick of the Bible Faithful. In: Berliner Zeitung . September 24, 2005, accessed July 10, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Intelligent donation? ( Memento from September 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) by Farhad Manjoo on salon.com