Ark. Gov. says he disagrees with Huckabee on belief in evolution

Gov. Mike Beebe says his predecessor was wrong in choosing to believe in God but not the theory of evolution.

No choice between the two is required, Beebe said Tuesday when asked about former governor Mike Huckabee's remarks following a debate last week among candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

Huckabee, who served more than a decade as Arkansas' governor before Beebe succeeded him this year, was one of three candidates at the debate who raised their hands when asked if they didn't believe in evolution. Huckabee has since said that he is not opposed to teaching evolution in schools, as a theory.

"Obviously, I think he's wrong," Beebe said when asked about Huckabee saying he did not believe in evolution.

"I don't think that believing in God and believing in evolution are mutually exclusive. I think you can believe in both," Beebe told reporters after a news conference at the state Capitol. "Obviously, I believe in God. I think he started it but then I think there's all kinds of scientific evidence that we've had evolution. That's just my belief. I guess he's entitled to his."

Beebe later said he respected Huckabee's right to not believe in evolution, and said he did not know if evolution should be an issue in the presidential race.

"I disagree with his belief, but I don't disagree with his right to believe in whatever he wants to believe in," Beebe said.

When asked whether evolution should be taught as a theory, Beebe said: "Evolution is a scientific model that's been taught in higher education circles and public schools ever since I was an itty-bitty kid, and I think there's science to support it."

Huckabee, who left office in January due to term limits, campaigned last year for Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson against Beebe, a Democrat.

During his campaign for governor last year, Beebe said that information about intelligent design "should be available to Arkansas students" and that he didn't believe intelligent design and evolution were mutually exclusive.

Huckabee last week repeated his position endorsing intelligent design and has said he did not have a chance to elaborate on his views about evolution during last week's debate. Huckabee says he has no problem with teaching evolution as a theory in public schools, and he said he doesn't expect schools to teach creationism and was opposed to indoctrinating children on any one view.

"Our schools should teach children to think for themselves, not indoctrinate them, so we have to expose them to different theories and ultimately let them decide. Our public schools should present both evolution and creationism. I would not support public schools teaching only creationism," Huckabee said in a statement released by his campaign Tuesday. "Evolution is a theory based on a lot of science, so it must be part of the curriculum."

Huckabee has said he believes it was his responsibility as a parent to teach his children his beliefs, and can accept that others believe that they and their families come from apes.

"I believe that there is a God and that he put the creative process in motion. I don't know how he did it: he may have used some sort of evolutionary process," Huckabee said. "I tend to believe that he did it as scripture says, but I know that a lot of people believe differently, and of course I respect their beliefs."