> That's the whole point: some people value purpose more than they value explanation.

Sure, but I don't think the debate is over whether creationists derive a sense of purpose from their beliefs. I have no doubt that they do. You'd never need to discuss things like fossils or evolution or cosmology to determine whether one derives a sense of purpose from one's beliefs.

My assumption was that these debates are about the epistemological status of these claims, which is largely independent of whether one derives a sense of purpose.