going by evidence within the bible believe that life started around 5,000 years ago
Only if you're about as literal as the late Rev. Ussher! I believe his proposed date was about 4004 BC (Roman calendar).
Thing is, modern Christian beliefs vary, but a large proportion of those, particularly those who have attempted to reconcile the words and modern theory, believe that large portions of the Bible ought to be treated allegorically, or metaphorically. There appears to be little reason to give everything right down to Genesis a concrete timeline- it is only applicable insofar as numerical values and family trees have been delineated in the canon texts (which would inevitably involve supporting texts outside of the Bible.
That said some of my fellow medical students had a hard time getting rid of that "six thousand years ago" figure. I think some of them still insist on exclusive Creationism, which is going to pose severe problems down the road. It requires one to actually start using their brain.
That can be said for both sides. More recently, the Mormon church donated millions of dollars to the "Yes on Proposition 8" Campaign. Any beliefs can be further advanced through such undertakings.
Scientific research competes vigorously for funding, as funding drives science...funding drives
everything because it provides leverage for resources and services, simple as that. It is therefore inevitable that there will be competition between various political bodies, including the Church and science and social groups etc. etc.
Where "Church and government should stay separate" comes in relevant here is that traditional interpretations of Church doctrine, as far as I understand it, is such that the Church should make every effort not to in itself become affiliated/synonymous with governing institution (refer to Martin Luther King and the Great Schism). This includes funding- the Church traditionally relies on community-based funding for community-based activities, as is their purpose.
Therefore there are many ways to criticse the Mormon church for making such a move, in terms of interpretation of doctrine (its own bag of worms) and in terms of social responsibility.
But what about such things as science, one might ask. Science seems to have become established because of government support, and I'd say this is mainly to do with the fact that philosophically speaking, our method of legislation relies largely on the evidence-based approach that science provides: think of all the reports that have been commissioned on pressing health and environment issues. Simply put, science focuses on different things from the Church.
But nonetheless there is tension because there is a debate on how effective scientific knowledge is and how important it is to distribute to society. I myself am acutely aware of the issue of a lack of communication and appreciation for a multitude of reasons, so my personal stance would be to push as strongly for the results of scientific research to be made known and understood, so that social reform may be made more compelling.
And this will generally be at odds with the sensibilities of conservatives.
