The Racist Roots of Evolution: How Darwin Fueled the Myth of Racial Superiority Charles Darwin, often called the father of evolution, is celebrated for his theory of natural selection published in On the Origin of Species (1859). Yet behind his scientific fame lies a troubling moral flaw. In his later book, The Descent of Man (1871), Darwin applied his theory to humanity and revealed deeply racist assumptions. He ranked people groups by supposed levels of “civilization,” placing Europeans at the top and describing others as “savage” or “less evolved.” Darwin wrote that “the civilized races of man will almost certainly exterminate and replace the savage races throughout the world” and compared Africans and Indigenous Australians to gorillas, implying they were closer to animals than Europeans (The Descent of Man, p. 201). These words exposed not scientific insight but cultural arrogance and ignorance. Darwin’s worldview reduced human value to biology, stripping away the moral equality rooted in divine creation. His ideas gave rise to Social Darwinism, which justified racism, imperialism, and eugenics under the guise of “survival of the fittest.” Darwin’s writings provided a framework for others to claim that some humans were naturally superior. Such thinking stands in direct opposition to both moral truth and the Christian understanding of humanity. The Bible declares that all people are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and that “from one man [God] made every nation of mankind” (Acts 17:26). True science now affirms what Scripture has always taught — that humans are over 99.9% genetically alike, with race being a social, not biological, distinction. Darwin’s theory may have shaped modern biology, but his view of human worth was tragically deformed by racism and unbelief. The Bible alone provides the true foundation for human equality — that every person, regardless of race or culture, is fearfully and wonderfully made by God and equally loved by Him.