Our Views: La. snubs Darwin

• Advocate Opinion page staff
• Published: Apr 14, 2009 - Page: 6B

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Just in time for the bicentennial observance of Charles Darwin’s birth, a new survey of Louisiana residents shows 40 percent of the respondents believe evolution is not well-supported by evidence or generally accepted within the scientific community. Only 39 percent of the respondents said they believed evolution is well-supported by evidence. Twenty-one percent said they did not know.

The level of belief that evolution is not supported by scientific evidence is startling. Equally amazing is the percentage who believe evolution is not generally accepted within the scientific community.

Since Darwin advanced his theory of evolution in the 19th century, it has been widely accepted as a cornerstone of scientific thought.

This is a free country, and people can choose to believe or not believe in evolution. But the assumption that evolution is widely controversial within the scientific community is simply not true.

That false assumption is part of the propaganda often advanced by creationists who favor teaching the biblical story of the Earth’s creation in public schools under a new name, intelligent design.

We favor freedom of religion, but as we have said before, religion shouldn’t be taught in science classrooms.

With supreme understatement, a news release from LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, which conducted the survey, noted that generally, “there is a lack of understanding of the scientific support for evolution.”

Not surprisingly, given that lack of understanding among many Louisiana residents, the survey also showed that about 57 percent of the respondents favor teaching creationism in public schools.

Such indifference to basic principles of science doesn’t position Louisiana very well to embrace the knowledge-based economy it needs to advance its future.

Among those who have expressed support for teaching intelligent design in public schools is Gov. Bobby Jindal.

How ironic that Jindal’s wife, Supriya, has launched a private foundation to promote math and science education in Louisiana’s classrooms.

We encourage the governor to promote science education by working to keep religion out of science classes in public schools — something he’s been unwilling to do so far.