http://www.adl.org/issue_religious_freedom/create/creationism5.asp
I was under the impression that the separation of church and state was enforced in the United States, but the more articles I read like this one the more disgusted (not to be harsh) I become that religion plays such a huge role in educational decisions. In Dover, PA, the school district became the first in the nation to allow for discussion of intelligent design in the
science room. This was overturned, but in 2004, the school district's board of education adopted a revision to the highschool biology curriculum stating that “Students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin’s Theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, Intelligent Design.” The November 2005 Kansas Board of Education decision "approved biology standards that characterized evolution as a flawed scientific theory and redefined science to include supernatural explanations, such as intelligent design, rather than natural explanations for physical evidence." In 1999, the Oklahoma State Textbook Committee said "that publishers doing business with the state be required to place a disclaimer in all biology books" stating that evolution is “a controversial theory which some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants and humans.” It also says that the evolutionary theory is an “unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.” The fact that these actually go into effect- that these concerns are actually awknowledged and put into law- really makes me wonder about people. Are people really so ignorant and close-minded that they think their religious beliefs are comparable to scientific evidence and should be taught to everyone regardless of differing religious and cultural backgrounds? It seems completely ridiculous to me, but I suppose as long as evolution is taught the American educational system has not completely strayed from its core values.
I was under the impression that the separation of church and state was enforced in the United States, but the more articles I read like this one the more disgusted (not to be harsh) I become that religion plays such a huge role in educational decisions. In Dover, PA, the school district became the first in the nation to allow for discussion of intelligent design in the
science room. This was overturned, but in 2004, the school district's board of education adopted a revision to the highschool biology curriculum stating that “Students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin’s Theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, Intelligent Design.” The November 2005 Kansas Board of Education decision "approved biology standards that characterized evolution as a flawed scientific theory and redefined science to include supernatural explanations, such as intelligent design, rather than natural explanations for physical evidence." In 1999, the Oklahoma State Textbook Committee said "that publishers doing business with the state be required to place a disclaimer in all biology books" stating that evolution is “a controversial theory which some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants and humans.” It also says that the evolutionary theory is an “unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced a world of living things.” The fact that these actually go into effect- that these concerns are actually awknowledged and put into law- really makes me wonder about people. Are people really so ignorant and close-minded that they think their religious beliefs are comparable to scientific evidence and should be taught to everyone regardless of differing religious and cultural backgrounds? It seems completely ridiculous to me, but I suppose as long as evolution is taught the American educational system has not completely strayed from its core values.
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