A former evangelical Christian and creationist refutes the pseudoscientific arguments of proponents of Intelligent Design and explains why the scientific evidence reveals that evolution is more than just a theory and how it transforms life through the process of natural selection. Reprint. 35,000 first printing. "Shermer is savage about the shortcomings of intelligent design and eloquent about the spirituality of science . . . An invaluable primer."-Los Angeles Times Book ReviewScience is on the defensive. Half of Americans reject the theory of evolution and intelligent-design campaigns are gaining ground. Classroom by classroom, creationism is overthrowing biology.In Why Darwin Matters, bestselling author Michael Shermer decodes the scientific evidence to show that evolution is not "just a theory" and illustrates how it achieves the design of life through the bottom-up process of natural selection. Shermer, once an evangelical Christian and a creationist, argues that intelligent-design proponents are invoking a combination of bad science, political antipathy, and flawed theology. He refutes their pseudoscientific arguments and then demonstrates why conservatives and people of faith can and should embrace evolution. Cutting the politics away from the facts, Why Darwin Matters is an incisive examination of what is at stake in the debate over evolution. Prologue: Why Evolution Matters xiii The Facts of Evolution 1(22) Why People Do Not Accept Evolution 23(11) In Search of the Designer 34(11) Debating Intelligent Design 45(44) Science under Attack 89(17) The Real Agenda 106(10) Why Science Cannot Contradict Religion 116(10) Why Christians and Conservatives Should Accept Evolution 126(13) The Real Unsolved Problems in Evolution 139(15) Epilogue: Why Science Matters 154(8) Coda: Genesis Revisited 162(4) Appendix: Equal Time for Whom? 166(3) Notes 169(16) Selected Bibliography 185(3) Acknowledgments 188(3) Index 191