U.S. political climate boosts creationists

PETERSBURG, Ky., April 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. political climate is bolstering the view of creationists who dispute claims that Earth is up to 4.5 billion years old, a Dallas anthropologist says.

"(Creationism is) not adding more proponents, it's growing in terms of giving increased confidence to those who share that belief," Ronald Wetherington of Southern Methodist University told the Chicago Tribune.

While scientists recently lauded the discovery of a 375-million-year-old fossilized fish, the U.S. arm of Answers in Genesis, the world's largest creationist organization, poked fun on its Web site.

Evolutionists "want to interpret this as evidence that it is some sort of transitional creature," the site for the Petersburg, Ky., arm of the organization said. "It may be just another example of the wonderful design of our creator God."

The 3-year-old British-based Answers in Genesis has grown so strong it held its first international conference last weekend and plans to open its Creation Museum in Kentucky next year, museum Vice President Mchael Zovath said.