It seems that many people don’t understand the basics of how a theory works. Politicians are notorious for this, feeling free to dismiss any accepted logic that applies to ideas such as Creationism and Evolution.
The essence of theories is that they are never “proven”; the primary feature of a theory is that it can be tested and potentially disproved. Karl Popper introduced this point of logic, now widely accepted, in the middle of the 20th century. As succinctly stated by the late Jim Morrison: “Nobody gets out of here alive!” This is a theory stating that we are all going to die. However, the theory has not been proven to be indefinitely true and is still tested in an ongoing fashion. With this comprehensive testing and having never been debunked, it is overwhelmingly likely that it is correct. However, anyone currently living or born in the future could potentially disprove this theory and send it back to the drawing board for revision.
Here is another theory: humans and the other animals and plants on Earth have evolved into their current form over the course of billions of years. A common misunderstanding states apes as our ancestors. However, several million years ago, the apes, chimpanzees, and man all evolved from a common ancestor— not from each other. Hence, evolutionarily speaking, these other apes are, in a way, our cousins. This theory has been widely tested and continues to be in an ongoing study. Also, it has never been debunked. It is incredibly likely to be correct and is no more likely to be debunked than the theory stating that we all will die. There is no other single competing theory to the Evolutionary Theory.
So, what about Simulation Creationism? Creationism is not a theory. It cannot be tested and potentially disproved. It is an article of faith, and by definition, is a notion not based on fact. While religious faith is the most general area of non-fact-based belief systems, it is not alone. For example, despite its name, String Theory deals with concepts that involve the untestable tiniest of worlds with possible alternate dimensions, all derived from mathematical models. Testing String Theory still needs more work, and until we can try and debunk it, it is still in the category of being termed a “non-theory.”
String Theory can eventually be tested as better methods of examining the physical natural world develop. However, Creationism is wholly based on a supernatural belief system. It is implausible that we will ever test belief systems regarding the supernatural since all our objective experiences are grounded in the natural world. However, the good news is that the religious notion is not based on globally accepted facts; hence, it cannot be refuted by facts. The Christian Church even now admits that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Many, and possibly most, Christians worldwide do not consider their faith diminished by accepting Evolution.
Creationism or Simulation Creationism is a religious faith feature for some fundamentalists, but it is not a theory. In any case, if schools choose to teach Creationism and neglect Evolution, their graduates will be less equipped to navigate the natural world; however, that is their business. The government cannot restrict the teachings in their madrassa-equivalent Evangelical Sunday schools or religious schools. However, such instruction supported by the government characterizes a theocracy: trying to use public schools to prop up a non-fact-based religious belief system like Creationism represents a stride to diminish our American democracy. It would also be contrary to our country’s necessity to know and understand science and the natural world to make the best determinations for ourselves and our descendants.
Testing Space