The National Academies of Science and the Insitute of Medicine have released a book titled, SCIENCE, EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM, along with a PDF summary brochure available for download.
"Teaching creationist ideas in science class confuses students about what constitutes science and what does not," the committee stated.
This is the most important facet of the political and social conflict between science and religion. The study and practice of science has very clear expectations that do not vary anywhere in the world, or in space for that matter.
Creationism can vary based on theology. Many creation stories exists among cultures. Joseph Campbell does a wonderful job comparing many creation stories in his book and interview with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth.
My favorite definition of science comes from Richard Feynman. He states,
Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts ... Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
I had the opportunity to study geology as an undergraduate and to do volunteer work with the Invertebrate Paleontology collection at the American Museum of Natural History. I am not an expert, but the fossil record is so vast and incredibly clear on evolution. The collection at AMNH in New York City will take more than the lifetime of the curators just to complete its organization, let alone to have specialists study all of the evidence of evolutionary processes. And that is just one collection. There are natural history museums around the world with vast collections of the fossil record representing a voluminous number of plant, animal, and micro-biotic species over billions of years.
Plus in modern genetics, the evolution of bacteria and viruses can be observed and documented.
I have only read the summary brochure as of yet, but this book is of timely importance for educators.
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