In response to Dr. Torley’s post here, commenter Graham asks: “Can we now drop the pretense and just declare UD/ID to be religious”?
Well Graham, let’s think about that. ID theory posits that some observations are best explained as the result of the acts of an intelligent agent. The theory does not posit any particular agent and the agent need not be a deity. It could, for example, be the aliens Dawkins speculated about in his interview with Ben Stein.
To be sure, many ID proponents believe the intelligent agent is God. But that is a possible implication of the theory, not part of the theory itself.
Neo-Darwinian evolution (NDE) posits that unguided material forces are sufficient to produce all that we see and thus there is no need for a designer. The obvious implication of the theory is that atheism is a valid scientific conclusion. Again, Dawkins: “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.”
Many proponents of NDE are atheists. But atheism is a possible implication of the theory, not part of the theory itself.
You ask if we can declare ID to be religious because some people take ID and run with its implications in theological directions. Well, a lot of people take NDE and run with its implications in theological directions. (Atheism is nothing if not a “religous” position)
Tell you what, I am happy to call ID religious if you will also call NDE religous to the same extent. Deal?