In recent decades many branches of Judeo-Christian theism have adapted to make room for the increasing body of scientific evidence in favor of evolution by natural selection. Theists typically achieve their sought-after compromise between science and religion by arguing for other-than-literal interpretations of the biblical account of Creation rendered in Genesis. This relatively modern approach has been addressed at length by many of the foremost atheist and skeptical thinkers of our day. With few exceptions, however, secularists have tended to avoid confronting the more fundamentalist perspective of young-Earth creationism head-on.
Why should this be? Certainly, the average skeptic’s reluctance to engage in high-profile debates with young-Earth creationists does not arise from want of evidence for an ancient Earth. Indeed, many apparently independent lines of evidence, drawn from numerous distinct scientific disciplines, all provide strong indications that both our universe and our planet are very old.