Bill Nye, the close-minded science guy

Bill Nye, affectionately known as “The Science Guy,” has recently put out a video on YouTube through BigThink titled “Creationism is Not Appropriate For Children.”
The video begins with Bill Nye’s belief in evolutionary theory, which is not surprising. This theory is extremely popular and held to be true in the scientific world.
However, as the video continues, Bill Nye proceeds to scold parents for relating their own “inconsistent” beliefs to their children because “we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future…we need engineers that can build stuff, solve problems.”
My first thought, of course, is, “What?”
Suddenly, because individuals may have some belief system that involves an intelligent Creator, they are not scientifically literate and have no hope of ever becoming a scientist or an effective voter and taxpayer.
As someone who has spent three years in the Chemistry department, I would call myself an amateur scientist. I am also someone who believes in a mixture of Creationism with evolution.
While this certainly puts me at odds with the many people studying the formations of the world, I do not believe that this has any effect on my ability to study quantum dots or any other topic I have chosen to study.
My grades have not yet been affected by my belief in a Creator and neither has my science. Bill Nye seems to think that I automatically think in an irrational manner and have a hindered ability to solve problems due to my belief in Creationism, and I would argue that that is simply not true.
Additionally, a belief in a created universe does not affect a person’s scientific literacy; with a little practice, anyone can critically read an article documenting an experiment.
I do not believe that we necessarily need to all hold the same beliefs as a society. There is a reason that this country was created with the freedom of both religion and speech. I do not, in any way, fault Bill Nye, the science guy, for his personal beliefs about evolutionary theory versus Creationism.
However, it is personally offensive and close-minded to think that an individual cannot effectively contribute to society based on his or her belief system.

Comments on this opinion
can be sent to
holly.burrell@live.mercer.edu