Jimmy Carter on Intelligent Design

Jimmy Carter was asked about the debate over the teaching of evolution during an interview on NPR’s Morning edition last week. The full interview is posted in the Kerry Reference Library.

INSKEEP: Mr. President, I want to ask about one political issue–a religious issue that’s also a political issue, has been made one, one that you write about. Intelligent design, the idea that there’s a higher power guiding evolution and the idea that that should be taught in American classrooms. Why do you think that has become a significant political issue now?

Mr. CARTER: I believe in a superior being, God. I believe that God created the universe. I also happen to be a scientist. I was trained in nuclear physics. And I don’t believe that we should mix the two. I don’t think there’s any need to mix the two. They’re completely separable and ought to be kept separate. And I don’t believe that there’s any incompatibility between them. There’s not in my mind.

INSKEEP: Why do you think that that issue has come up again at this moment in history?

Mr. CARTER: Because religious leaders have tried to insert their faith into the scientific classrooms of elementary, high school and college courses. And I don’t think that’s appropriate.