#79: Is Intelligent Design Science or Religion?
Although science and faith are recurring interests in my work and ministry, I’ve addressed their intersection in only a few of my previous notes. This may seem surprising—even to me—given both my personal passion for the subject and my professional background, including over twenty years of work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Despite the limited treatment in earlier notes, the close relationship between faith and science is compelling and well-documented. As Christians, we know that the books of Nature and Scripture are consistent because God reveals himself in both (Psalm 19:1-6; Job 38:4-7; Acts 17:24-28; 1:19; Hebrews 11:3). While a comprehensive exploration of this topic is beyond the scope of this note, I encourage you to explore several accessible resources listed in the references below. These offer a broad introduction to the bond between science and Christian belief. [1][2][3]
In this note, I want to briefly address a particular area within the science-faith discussion: Intelligent Design (ID). ID is defined as the view that certain features of life and the universe are best explained by an intelligent cause rather than by an undirected process. While ID has its critics, it has gained increased attention and credibility through its publications and the support of a growing number of scientists and scholars.
It is important to note that ID does not attempt to identify the intelligent cause with the God of the Bible. Instead, it uses a scientific approach to argue for intelligence behind the origin of life and the universe. Some critics dismiss ID as “pseudoscience,” [4] but this label does not hold up under scrutiny. The references cited below [5][6] present sophisticated arguments based on empirical evidence, probability theory, and information science. These approaches are based on standard scientific reasoning—including methods used by Darwin himself in The Origin of Species. [7] While further argument is needed to equate an “intelligent cause” with the God of Scripture, that step lies beyond the scope of this note.
To explore this further, I recommend a short video produced by the Colson Center’s “What Would You Say?” series. It provides three responses to a skeptic’s claim that “Intelligent Design isn’t science, it’s religion.” Watch the video here (6.5 minutes):
I’d like to offer two reflections on this video.
First, I strongly agree with its observation that many who reject ID as “unscientific” often have a narrow view of science. Most people are familiar with what’s known as operational science, which involves repeatable experiments to test hypotheses—common in disciplines like chemistry and physics. This is the form of science I usually practiced during my career at LANL: asking questions, forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and analyzing data in a repeatable cycle known as the scientific method.
However, as the video explains, much of scientific inquiry investigates events from the past—such as the origin of the universe, archeological discoveries, or the evolution of life. These questions cannot be studied through repeatable experimentation. Instead, scientists use what’s called historical science, collecting clues that remain from past events and developing theories to best explain them. Examples include redshift data to infer the beginning of the universe or fossil records to study early life. This process uses abductive reasoning, or inference to the best explanation.
This is the same method used in everyday life, such as criminal investigations. Forensic science, for instance, involves collecting evidence and forming competing explanations—guilt or innocence—based on the evidence. No one claims that forensic science is unscientific. Similarly, cosmology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and ID all rely on this historical scientific approach.
Second, while I appreciate the video’s approach, I offer a minor methodological refinement. The video starts with a skeptic’s claim and immediately proposes counterarguments. However, at Apologetics on Mission, we consistently recommend starting such conversations with questions, not rebuttals. As Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason points out, the “burden of proof” rests on the person making the claim—not the listener. [8]
When someone asserts, “Intelligent Design isn’t science; it’s religion,” we can respond with clarifying questions:
- Why do you believe that’s true?
- How did you come to that conclusion?
- What do you mean by science?
- What do you mean by Intelligent Design?
In my experience, many people make assertions they haven’t thought through. They’re simply repeating what they’ve heard elsewhere. Asking these questions can gently reveal gaps in their understanding and give us valuable insight into their position. If they do provide thoughtful answers, we’re now in a better position to engage meaningfully—perhaps even using the counterarguments offered in the video.
I encourage you to explore one or more of the resources listed below and consider taking the video-based ID course referenced in [7]. If you're new to ID, you may be surprised by the depth of its scientific reasoning and inspired to see this perspective introduced into our children's education as a valuable, non-materialistic approach to important science and “Big Life” (worldview) questions concerning origins and evolution.
In Christ, Doug
Director, AoM-Military & Secretary, Board of Directors
“Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect . . .” 1 Peter 3:15
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[1] John A. Bloom, The Natural Sciences: A Student’s Guide, 2015. Another 128-page softcover book, also accessible and written for the layperson.
[2] Melissa Cain Travis, Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals About God, 2018. A 221-page softcover book written at a slightly more advanced lay level.
[3] John C. Lennox, Can Science Explain Everything?, 2019. A 128-page softcover book written for the layperson.
[4] Wikipedia, “Intelligent Design”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design
[5] Stephen C. Meyer, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe, 2020. A 568-page hardcover book, accessible despite its length.
[6] William A. Dembski and Winston Ewert, The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance through Small Probabilities, 2nd ed., 2023. A 583-page volume suitable for readers comfortable with analytical rigor and probability theory.
[7] Meyer, “Inside the Theory of Intelligent Design: Meyer’s Introduction,” [YouTube, 9 July 2025]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDPyiCR-EB0.This 12-minute video introduces an online ID course available at https://www.discoveryu.org/courses/meyer.
[8] Greg Koukl, “Stress-Free Evangelism,” Stand to Reason, 2019: https://www.str.org/w/the-burden-free-step-in-discussing-christian-beliefs.