Creation science is a movement within creationism which attempts to use scientific means to disprove evolutionary theories concerning life on Earth, and to prove the Genesis account of creation. Its most vocal proponents are conservative Christians in the United States who accept Biblical inerrancy. Key concepts in creation science include the idea of "creation ex nihilo", that mankind and other life on earth were created as unique, fixed kinds; and the notion that fossils found in geological strata are indicative of an historical flood which extended over the whole earth. While related, the field of "Intelligent Design" research holds a supernatural being (not necessarily the Christian God) created the universe.
The first creation science texts focused on concepts derived from a literal interpretation of the Bible and were overtly religious in nature, most notably linking Noah's flood in Genesis to the geological and fossil record in a system termed flood geology. Creation science came to the attention of the wider national and international public and scientific community when its followers launched objections to the teaching of evolution in public schools and other venues, and successfully persuaded some school boards and lawmakers that creation science deserved equal consideration alongside Darwinian evolution in the science curriculum. Revised creation science texts and curricula were developed for public schools which removed the theory's explicit references to Biblical and theological doctrine, and teaching of creation science was implemented in Louisiana, Arkansas, and other regions in the United States. By the 1980s, its influence was worldwide.
The teaching of creation science in public schools in the United States effectively ended in 1987 when the United States Supreme Court determined the creation science taught in Louisiana public schools was not a legitimate scientific theory, and ruled its teaching unconstitutional in Edwards v. Aguillard because its true purpose was to advance a particular religious belief.