Our Views: Creationists show clout
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A miracle of sorts has occurred: Backers of creationism in public schools have exposed themselves by their hardball politicking at the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
For years, backers of “creation science” and “intelligent design” have said they seek only to promote critical thinking about the origins of life on Earth. Nothing more.
If “critical thinking” is sought in classrooms, there was no need for a new state law. Yet creationism backers pushed a bill through a weak Legislature that authorizes “supplemental materials” in science classes. But no, not creationism, they said. Over and over again. Gov. Bobby Jindal, who signed the bill into law, said he only wanted students to get the full range of opinion on the subject.
There is no need for a state law to encourage critical thinking on specific subjects. But if one’s goal is to push the Bible story of creation into classrooms, some sort of legal cover is needed.
When the state Department of Education and an expert committee wrote rules to implement the new law, the rules forbid the teaching of religion in schools.
The original rules touched directly on creationism: “Materials that teach creationism or intelligent design or that advance the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind shall be prohibited for use in science classes.”
That’s what the U.S. Supreme Court ordered when it struck down a Louisiana creationism law in 1987. That’s what other federal courts have ordered in similar debates.
That is the law in the United States.
But with a certitude born of zealotry, the creationists wanted that sentence out of the rules, and BESE agreed.
The creationists don’t want to be reminded of the law they don’t like. They really don’t want teachers to comply with the law, for that defeats the purpose of sneaking religious tracts into public school classrooms.
The list of the weak-kneed on this issue gets longer and longer every time it is discussed. Not only the BESE members but state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek acquiesced in the lobbying from creationism backers such as the Louisiana Family Forum. The latter is a particularly influential backer of Jindal. Three members of the 11-member BESE are Jindal appointees.
BESE joins the ranks of the wimps who have rolled over on the issue of creationism. It’s a sad thing. Not because faith is a bad thing in its proper place. Not because the Family Forum doesn’t have a right to its views. But because the state is siding with the backward against not only science but the rule of law in this country.
For years, backers of “creation science” and “intelligent design” have said they seek only to promote critical thinking about the origins of life on Earth. Nothing more.
If “critical thinking” is sought in classrooms, there was no need for a new state law. Yet creationism backers pushed a bill through a weak Legislature that authorizes “supplemental materials” in science classes. But no, not creationism, they said. Over and over again. Gov. Bobby Jindal, who signed the bill into law, said he only wanted students to get the full range of opinion on the subject.
There is no need for a state law to encourage critical thinking on specific subjects. But if one’s goal is to push the Bible story of creation into classrooms, some sort of legal cover is needed.
When the state Department of Education and an expert committee wrote rules to implement the new law, the rules forbid the teaching of religion in schools.
The original rules touched directly on creationism: “Materials that teach creationism or intelligent design or that advance the religious belief that a supernatural being created humankind shall be prohibited for use in science classes.”
That’s what the U.S. Supreme Court ordered when it struck down a Louisiana creationism law in 1987. That’s what other federal courts have ordered in similar debates.
That is the law in the United States.
But with a certitude born of zealotry, the creationists wanted that sentence out of the rules, and BESE agreed.
The creationists don’t want to be reminded of the law they don’t like. They really don’t want teachers to comply with the law, for that defeats the purpose of sneaking religious tracts into public school classrooms.
The list of the weak-kneed on this issue gets longer and longer every time it is discussed. Not only the BESE members but state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek acquiesced in the lobbying from creationism backers such as the Louisiana Family Forum. The latter is a particularly influential backer of Jindal. Three members of the 11-member BESE are Jindal appointees.
BESE joins the ranks of the wimps who have rolled over on the issue of creationism. It’s a sad thing. Not because faith is a bad thing in its proper place. Not because the Family Forum doesn’t have a right to its views. But because the state is siding with the backward against not only science but the rule of law in this country.
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