To answer the question, is evolution a theory, we must understand what a scientific theory is.
Here is the definition according to Live Science:
- A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. If enough evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, it moves to the next step—known as a theory—in the scientific method and becomes accepted as a valid explanation of a phenomenon.
There are a couple important points in the above definition. The theory must be testable so you can run experiments on the hypothesis to prove if the theory is wrong or not. You cannot prove that it is true. You keep trying to prove it wrong so much that the hypothesis is true and then it graduates to a theory.
The method to do this is experimentation using the Scientific Method. This is what gives science it credibility. The experiment that confirms a theory should be able to be performed anywhere and anytime on this planet. This is the Law of Uniformity.
Is Evolution A Theory? Evolution is not just about evolving animals through beneficial mutation. It is about 1) the entire universe coming into existence from nothing and 2) life coming out of rocks.
These two claims cannot be proven scientifically in that we do not see them occurring and cannot test them. Science does not have the opportunity perform the scientific method on the theory of evolution, so the theory of evolution must move from a scientific theory to an administrative theory (read my article on these theories). If we cannot test them for “falseness” (falsification), how can they be a legitimate “scientific theory”?
How can a hypothesis (or guess) become a theory if it does not meet the standards set for being a theory?