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Article: Creationism
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Science and Religion
- Author:
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Creationism
The meaning of the term
creationism
has varied greatly over time. In the history of Christian theology it once designated the idea that God creates a new soul for each person born, in contrast to
traducianism,
which envisions the soul as propagating in a manner similar to the way bodies propagate.
In contemporary culture, however, the term has taken on a number of substantially different meanings that need to be distinguished. For the purposes of this entry, the term
theological creationism
designates the basic belief, held by members of many religious communities, that the universe is not self-existent but is a creation; that is, the universe has being only because a ...