Richard Dawkins tears into Ben Carson: His belief in creationism is a ‘deeply depressing disgrace’

Atheist intellectual and famed evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins blasted the Republican Party on CNN over the weekend for their continued promotion of creationism over evolution. Dawkins particularly targeted GOP candidate Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon, for his beliefs that ignore scientific conclusions.

Carson worked as a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1984 to 2013. Despite Carson’s long career in medicine and science, the Republican front runner recently stated his belief that the world was created in 6 days in accordance with The Book of Genesis.

“For a very senior eminent distinguished doctor as he is to say [he does not believe in evolution] is even worse. Because of course, evolution is the bedrock of biology and biology is the bedrock of medicine,” Dawkins said to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “He clearly doesn’t understand the fundamental theorem of his own subject. That is a terrible indictment.”

Of the numerous candidates for the Republican ticket, only Jeb Bush states that he believed in evolution, but still does not think it should be taught in schools. Every other candidate strongly believes in creationism, with the exception of Donald Trump, who has not voiced an opinion on the issue.

“You just told me all the Republican candidates except one don’t believe in evolution. I mean, that’s a disgrace,” said Dawkins to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

Dawkins believes that the Republican candidates openly state their beliefs and ignore accepted science as a way to pander to the religious right. “And if that’s true,” continued Dawkins, “it’s deeply depressing.”

Although nearly no democrats believe in creationism, the belief remains incredibly popular among Republicans throughout the country. Creationism continues to attract religious believers, despite the fact that many churches now accept evolution and believe it is compatible with their religious views.

“It is a form of arrogance to say we know what God does,” Dawkins said, concluding his comments. “The only way to know anything is by looking at the evidence. In this particular case, the evidence is overwhelming… In the case of evolution, there is no doubt. It is a fact.”

Watch the segment below:

Featured image screen grab via CNN

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