Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design Book

In Creationism's Trojan Horse, Forrest and Gross examine in full detail the claims and operations of the "Intelligent Design" movement, the most recent manifestation of American creationism. Explaining and analyzing what "design theorists" call their "Wedge Strategy," they document the Wedge?s aggressive political and public relations campaign. The most notable feature of the movement?s purportedly new scientific paradigm is an abject failure to produce scientific data in support of its claims or even a coherent research program. Instead, the Wedge maintains a crowded nationwide schedule of lectures, popular publications for its mostly conservative Christian constituency, and media appearances, all sustained by generous funding from religious benefactors. The Wedge has intruded itself efficiently into educational politics at local, state, and national levels.

Forrest and Gross detail efforts of intelligent design proponents to influence science standards in Kansas and Ohio, and to influence federal education legislation through the so-called "Santorum amendment" of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. They demonstrate the continuity of intelligent design with traditional creationism, including all the scientific claims, exposing its religious core and purposes. By displaying the movement?s alliance with Religious Right extremism, the book reveals the significance of William Dembski?s statement that the intelligent design movement?s challenge to the "evolutionary naturalism of Darwin" is "ground zero of the culture war."