N_, I have my own ideas that some would probably describe as religious. But Intelligent Design (which I should have capitalised in my previous comment) is just special creationism by the back door. It says that when a biological structure looks complicated, give up trying to work out how it came about and just use its complexity as “proof” that “God” must have designed it. The US creationists tried to force state schools to teach Intelligent Design in biology classes, as if it were part of science.
– “Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Trial transcript: Day 6 (October 5), PM Session, Part 1”. TalkOrigins Archive. Houston: The TalkOrigins Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
– Q. Has the Discovery Institute been a leader in the intelligent design movement?
– A. Yes, the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture.
– Q. And are almost all of the individuals who are involved with the intelligent design movement associated with the Discovery Institute?
– A. All of the leaders are, yes.
— Barbara Forrest, 2005, testifying in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial.
This led to a reaction in the form of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, pesto be upon Him:
Pence probably said what he did because he takes Genesis 1:26 seriously:
– And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.