Mandate to put creationism back in public schools! Aaaargh!

[pnutchuck]

snip

Today’s lawsuit challenges a controversial decision made in October by the Dover Area School Board to require biology teachers to present "intelligent design" as an alternative to the scientific theory of evolution. "Intelligent design" is an assertion that an intelligent, supernatural entity has intervened in the history of life. The lawsuit argues that such an assertion is inherently a religious argument that falls outside the realm of science. At the time of the October vote, district science teachers opposed the policy and three school board members have since quit in protest of the decision.

"The members of this school board have made their own religious beliefs part of the high school’s science curriculum," said Eric Rothschild, a partner at Pepper Hamilton, a law firm headquartered in Philadelphia. "This policy is not only unconstitutional, it is bad science."

http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=17207&c=139

[marc_the_dem]

1. Theology is a subject you know...

lets separate science and theology. I know that a lot of republicans don't have much "book learnin" but maybe if they knew that there was a specific subject that could be given as an elective in schools to learn about religion, maybe they would be so damn fixated on pushing creationism as a science.

[AllegroRondo]

4. Better yet, a Comparative Religion class

I always thought it would be nice to require high school kids to learn a little about the various religions of the world. Expand their minds a bit, make them think about things beyond their own back door.

[tekriter]

6. I took such a class as a senior in high school...

in a Catholic school, no less. Of course one of the underlying messages was that we would learn why Catholics were "better", but much to his credit our teacher was an enlightened type who thought that knowledge of others was, all by itself, a GOOD thing.

We were encouraged to visit and speak with people of one other faith for a paper we were to write; I did mine on Christian Science. Spent a couple of hours speaking to a CS pastor who was flat-assed amazed that we were encouraged to do this project.

[BootinUp]

7. That was a required course

at my Catholic HS. :)

[HockeyMom]

21. Same with me at Caholic School

over 40 years ago. And even better, for my Senior paper I had to present the agrument on why there was NO God. The Fundies would be horrifed at that one. Got an A on that paper too.

[rkc3]

5. Don't you mean - "Book Lurnin"

[marc_the_dem]

8. LMAO

yes, thanks for the correction....

[mutus_frutex]

20. Agreed..

I think that if people learn some comparative religion they would be a lot more open-minded. That's probably why you will never see this in a public school. The fundies would complain that the "government" is "deforming" their religion and bring up the 1st amendment. Which is really ironic, in a sad sort of way.. :-)

[cali]

2. This won't fly

the Supreme Ct. ruled against teaching creationism is 1987. I.D.
is nothing but tarted up creationism. BTW, have you ever checked out the evolution threads in Freeperville? Interesting stuff. There are a lot of bright, scientifically literate posters battling the creationists, who are, to the last one, lying their asses off. Check it out.

[AndyTiedye]

11. They Hope the New Scalia Court Will Rule Differently...

...and they have every reason to for hope that,
and the non-Fundie majority has every reason to despair.

[pnutchuck]

14. NC has already put stickers in their public school science books

"Evolution is only a theory, not a fact"

[cali]

15. That's Georgia, not N.C. and it's one school district,

and it's being challenged. ID is the death rattle of creationism in schools. I'll repeat what I asserted before: it won't fly. Even most hardcore creos now admit that what they erroneously refertto as 'microevolution' occurs. Of course, there really is no such thing as microevolution and macroevolution: Evolution operates on a continuum. ID is not falsifiable, ergo it is not a scientific theory. Evolution, has been strengthened not weakened by science in recent years. Its opponents have been discredited time after time. Although PA and Georgia represent setbacks, I'm confident that they'll be overcome.

[pnutchuck]

16. Nice to see a few optimists on the DU

but from all of the "mandate" lingo flying around since the election, and RW nut jobs being nominated, I'm leaning towards taking a proactive stance and combating this before it takes roots. You're right, science has gained credibility among educated people, however there are real believers in ID out there and will stop at nothing to infect the minds of our children.

Remember McCarthy? Prohibition? Segregation? These type of nuts are still out there and they insist on passing their paranoid, Christian conservative values on to their children and, if they can, ours too.

[renaissanceguy]

17. It seems to me

that the moderate Repubs are starting to speak up (i.e. about Rumsfeld and other policies). I hope they'll start speaking out about issues like this.


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[zbdent]

3. Okay, start with Norse Mythology

and then to Buddhism, then to Native American, etc.

Get to "Christianity" - "MAGIC!"

[indigonation]

9. Yup, add Little Green Men to that list, while were at it. n/t

[EC]

10. we need scientists

not theologians

[MaineYooper]

18. we need both.

Speaking as a scientist, yes, we need scientists to fight this battle constantly and ferociously. However, there are also some very good theologians who are willing to treat Genesis 1 as mythology, rather than as a biology/geology/cosmology text book.

Many good bible scholars actually hold that there are actually *two* mutually inconsistent creation stories within Genesis itself.

We need to take help fighting this battle where ever it arises, as it is critical that creation and its bastard step-child ID be stopped.

[Branjor]

12. If you have to teach creationism in a science class....

maybe they should also mandate teaching of evolution in theology classes. Wouldn't that blow the fundies' minds! :nuke:

[pnutchuck]

13. Great idea

But it would never fly. They're getting they're sticky little fingers in Science and soon it will take hold once they get their SC nominee.

[Jackie97]

19. Good grief.

What part of not scientifically proven do these emotional people not understand? I'm all for ID being taught in schools once it's proven by scientists. Unfortunately, God is not scientific.