Anticreationist complaints are a form of snobbery. There are many more
important traits on which to judge people than whether they believe in
evolution.
Most anticreationists would be content to let creationists believe as
they wish and not make an issue of it. However, creationists make
creationism an important trait. They make a huge deal of it and want
to impose it on others. If creationists did not believe that it is one
of the most important traits on which to judge people, the
creationism-evolution dispute would not exist.
The complaint of snobbery is based on the attitude that all opinions
are equal. Although that attitude sounds democratic and fair, it is
indefensible. Opinions have value to the extent that they are
informed. If you are suffering serious stomach problems, would you
give equal weight to opinions from a professional gastroenterologist
and a supermarket bag-boy? When someone speaking on the subject of
evolution is woefully uninformed on issues concerning evolution, it is
entirely appropriate to point that out. And the claims made by
creationists show that almost all of them are woefully ignorant of
evolution. There are exceptions (Kurt Wise, for example), but they are
very few.
The resolution of creationism as a scientific proposition rests on
what the facts indicate, and facts are not determined by the
personalities of the people who talk about them. Creationists are free
to avoid this issue entirely by approaching creationism as an entirely
unscientific religious viewpoint, but they have chosen not to do so.
Many creationists have a literally holier-than-thou attitude. For
example, they (falsely) claim that believers of evolution are
atheistic and evil. You cannot get any more snobbish
or elitist than that.
Further Reading:
Sonnert, Gerhard, 2002. Ivory Bridges: Connecting Science and Society,
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
