Because of the hegemony of fundamentalist religion in the United States, this country has been among the most resistant to the fact of human evolution.

Harmonizing religion and science makes you seem like an open-minded and reasonable person, while asserting their incompatibility makes enemies and brands you as “militant.” The reason is clear: religion occupies a privileged place in our society. Attacking it is off-limits, although going after other supernatural or paranormal beliefs like ESP, homeopathy, or political worldviews is not. Accommodationism is not meant to defend science, which can stand on its own, but to show that in some way religion can still make credible claims about the world.

Why, exactly, are scientists supposed to accord "respect" to a bunch of ancient fables that are not only ludicrous on their face, but motivate so much opposition to science?

Can a geology teacher blithely tell his students that the earth is flat, or a European history professor that the Holocaust didn't happen? That's not academic freedom, but dereliction of duty.

These mysteries about how we evolved should not distract us from the indisputable fact that we did evolve.

We humans have many vestigial features proving that we evolved. The most famous is the appendix.

Damn, but science is just a constant feed of cool new facts and theories. Theology doesn't come close.