"The robe" began because people brought the case to it.
Dover's school board mandated the teaching of intelligent design, and intelligent design is religion wearing a disguise, so, in effect, Dover's school board mandated religious teachings to be included in a biology class.
Had the Dover city council mandated that teaching evolution be included in Sunday class, people would have argued that the Constitution forbids such a thing.
Yet, they are the same thing.
This is false Luis. Dovers school board did no such thing.
Not arguing with you, just pointing the innaccurate and even hypocritical statements made by the Dover board.
As most have noted, Darwin deals only with the origin of the species, not the origin of life.
On October 18, 2004, the Defendant Dover Area School Board of Directors passed by a 6-3 vote the following resolution:
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. Note: Origins of Life is not taught.
On November 19, 2004, the Defendant Dover Area School District announced by press release that, commencing in January 2005, teachers would be required to read the following statement to students in the ninth grade biology class at Dover High School:
The Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part.
Because Darwin’s Theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.
Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin’s view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People, is available for students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves.
With respect to any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. The school leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families. As a Standards-driven district, class instruction focuses upon preparing students to achieve proficiency on Standards-based assessments.