Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said that excluding intelligent design in teaching evolution in schools amounts to "censorship by government" during a stop in Iowa on Wednesday, the Des Moines Register reports.
The conservative congresswoman signaled that her religious beliefs helped to shape her posture toward the scientific theory. She explained that she believes "God created the earth" and issues such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, irreducible complexity and the "the dearth of fossil record" need to be addressed.
Bachmann also stated, "If you look at scientists there is not a unanimity of agreement on the origins of life." She made similar remarks in 2006.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design," she said then.
Last summer, Bachmann said in explaining her stance on intelligent design, "What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide." She added, "I don't think it's a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides."
Rival presidential contender Rick Perry called evolution "a theory that's out there" and one that's "got some gaps in it" earlier in the campaign. After the Texas governor made headlines with his remarks, GOP candidate Jon Huntsman wrote in a tweet, "To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."
ThinkProgress relays a clip of what Bachmann had to say in Iowa on Wednesday.
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