Honors Theses
Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
History
First Advisor
Theresa Levitt
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis explores the historic struggle and development of the American Evangelical community to form a unified front against naturalistic evolution during the twentieth century: focusing on the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) as a microcosm in the battle for a general consensus. Conservative six-day creationists who felt threatened by more liberal views within the denomination over the issue pressured the 1998 PCA General Assembly to appoint a special Creation Study Committee. The outcome of the work of the committee only broadened acceptable views within the denomination, much to the chagrin of the conservative elders who pushed for the Committee's formation. The central argument of this thesis is that the resolution of the PCA Creation Study Committee findings both mirrored national trends in the ongoing creation and evolution debate, but also highlighted the struggles of a young denomination seeking its own public and private identity within the boundaries of Reformed distinctive. The secondary sources employed for the national movement include Ronald Numbers The Creationists (1992) and Michael Ruse's But Is It Science? (1988). Primary material include interviews with Dr. C. John Collins and Mr. Samuel Duncan, chairman of the Committee. Further research was conducted through various General Assembly and Presbytery Minutes, as well as the responses to the decisions reached in these Minutes.
Recommended Citation
Wilkerson, Michael Calhoun, "In Six Days: The Creation Study Committee and the PCA's Struggle for Consensus on Anti-Darwinism" (2016). Honors Theses. 709.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/709
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