I finally got around to reading the 22 Feb 2008 issue of Science magazine. p.1034 has a great article “Crossing the Divide” about an evolutionist Stephen Godfrey who made a difficult journey from his upbringing in a community of Biblical literalists.
You may need a membership in AAAS to access sciencemag.org, but if you Google “Crossing the Divide” “Godfrey” you will find over 500 links.

1. [ blog Quintessence of Dust]
2. [Posting on richarddawkins.net—just yesterday (Mar 6)]

If brought up to believe the Bible is literally true, within families and communities with this one perspective, it can be challenging and stressful to change one’s viewpoint even with all the evidence.

That was an interesting article.  You can sense how strongly young Earth creationists are incensed to science and have a knee jerk reaction to escape science related topics.  Godfrey attempted to talk about evolution at the family dinner table.  He was asked to stop bringing up the topic.  Also, his sister was not sure what turned her brother away from a young Earth, as they’ve never discussed it. “I know he saw something at some point, maybe a fossil, and thought the Earth has to be old,” she says. “That is what I’ve heard.” This definitely shows a lack of inquiry or interest.

As for figuring out what changes young earth creationist’s minds.  I think Godfrey’s story says it all.  There is no amount of cold hard facts that can convince someone.  It is up to the individual to internalize the information and make their own inquiries.  Godfrey spent years playing the college game and getting good grades without actually believing what he was answering in the tests.  It wasn’t until he drove by sedimentary layers and hashed out his cognitive dissonance by his own internal dialogue, that he came to fully accept what science was telling him.

The biggest message I take from this story is the value of a good education.  If I make my fortune, you can bet my secular humanist will; will include a lot of donations in support of education.  Thanks for the article Jackson.

Having grown up in a religious family I can empathize with Godfrey. I didn’t have such as hard transition, though, as I rejected a lot of my family’s attitudes (especially the racism) at an early age.

I also remember my grandparents taking me to see dinosaur tracks in the Texas Hill Country when I was very young. They were religious, but they never taught me Young Earth Creationism. I have to give them credit for that.

This article is an excellent example of how religion poisons people’s minds.

Thanks for posting that, Jackson. Interesting article.