Josh has a good overview of the wending through the legislature of a Creationist bill in Louisiana. The governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, who just turned 37, has made Creationist noises before. This is interesting because Jindal is a Roman Catholic, so he has no necessary religious rationale for his Creationism. Additionally, he has a degree in biology from Brown University. Fellow ScienceBlogger Mike happens to have gone through the same biology program as Jindal at the same time at Brown, and he makes it clear that Jindal’s opinions do not emerge from a vacuum of information, Brown’s curriculum was very thorough about emphasizing evolution. If Jindal does sign this bill I believe he will be have to make his mark as governor of Louisiana as opposed to being a national figure; evolution is a marginal issue to most people but cultural elites, both Left and Right, perceive anti-evolutionism as a sure sign of yokel-identification.
On a slightly different note, the prominent conservative public intellectual George Will recently admitted to being an agnostic on the Colbert Report. Will’s rather forceful and uncompromising opposition to Intelligent Design comes into somewhat sharper focus now I would think. He’s out promoting his new book, One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation, and I’ve noticed Will has referred to the empirical nature of conservatism several times. I found that interesting since Heather Mac Donald, a conservative who has not been quiet about her atheism, has also emphasized the importance of empiricism in shaping her outlook. I do know that Heather and George Will are on good terms, so perhaps there are outlines of a Vast Right-Wing Atheist Conspiracy???
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