Stephen Weldon, assistant professor in the University of Oklahoma history of science department, will take a look at the history of the creation-evolution debate and provide insights into why it has been such a hot button issue in the U.S. during a free public lecture 7 p.m. Thursday at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Timberdell Road and Chautauqua Avenue.

In his lecture, titled "Hopes, Fears and Discontent in America: Four Decades of Anti-Evolutionism and Anti-Creationism," Weldon will explore the underlying concerns of activists engaged in debates over evolution and creationism from the 1960s to the present day.

Using a historian's lens to study the topic, Weldon will address why this particular series of confrontations been so tenacious in America and examine the political and religious agendas that have driven different groups of people to get involved.

According to a press release about the event, the talk exposes some common myths and misconceptions embraced by partisans on both sides and concludes with some suggestions about possible ways to refocus the debates on more salient issues.

Weldon's work includes studying the historical interaction of science and religion, the politics of science and technology, and psychology and the behavioral sciences in 20th-century America. He also has an interest in science in non-Western, especially East Asian, contexts. He has published various articles on the relation of science to Secular Humanism, Deism, and modern Judaism, as well as on the role of postmodernism and social construction in science-religion studies. He is working on a project titled "Science and Secular Humanism, A Cultural History: How American Democracy Has Mediated the Science-Religion Dialog."

Sponsored by the OU history of science department and the SNOMNH, the lecture is part of Darwin 2009, a universitywide, year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." Additional information about Darwin 2009 is available online at http://www.ou.edu/darwin/Site/Home.

Additional information about this and other programs is available on the museum's Web site: www.snomnh.ou.edu, or by calling 325-4712.