Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’ speaks out against creationism in online video

Bill Nye has always championed a scientific education for kids, most notably on his popular 90's educational series 'Bill Nye the Science Guy.'

But this time, in a new video for the Big Think online knowledge forum, the scientist and television personality is appealing to parents.

Specifically, he's calling out parents who teach their children biblical creationism while denying that evolution is real:

"If you want to deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we observe in the universe, that's fine," he tells viewers. "But don't make your kids do it, because we need them. We need scientifically literate voters and taxpayers for the future."

"Your world just becomes fantastically complicated when you don't believe in evolution," he adds.

Nye posits that denial of evolution is "unique" to the U.S. and it's a surprising contrast in a country known for its bright scientific minds and advanced innovations.

"When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in that it holds everybody back," he warns.

As Reuters notes, a Gallup poll of 1,012 American adults taken in May revealed that 46 per cent believe that God created humans sometime within the last 10,000 years.

Many of those people appear to have come out swinging against Nye on the video's YouTube page.

The scientist, who once studied under legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, has been blasted by parents for "daring" to tell them what to teach their children when evolution is just a "theory."

One commenter even called Nye an "actor" in an attempt to discredit his qualifications.

Others have thanked the man for addressing an important issue so bravely.

Despite the firestorm his words have provoked, Nye says he'll be vindicated by the future.

"In another couple of centuries that [creationist] worldview just won't exist," he says.