[Rockingham]

This ought not to have been unexpected. The faith based challenge to the teaching of evolution has been misconceived. The target ought to be not evolution as properly understood as a scientific doctrine of limited application beyond its purview, but: (1) the outlandish claims often made that evolution somehow disproves the existence of God and the core tenets of Christianity; and (2) the often extreme, de facto culture of philosophical materialism and amorality that is now embedded in the public schools.

Here's the beginning of a solution that the ACLU and the public schools would hate but be hard put to dispute. Require that every public school regularly and expressly warn their students and parents: "Current federal court rulings mean that we cannot teach religion or matters of faith and morals. Students, ask your parents and follow their teachings. Parents, teach your students about faith and morals." Post that in every student and parent handbook, in every textbook, and in every classroom. And, in the biology texts, put in a similar warning that evolution should not be taken as refuting religious faith.

If nothing else, that would shift the terms of debate to a fight that we can win. Hope for victory in the culture wars requires that we pick fights that we can and do win in the short term even as we aim at the larger cultural reformation that goes against current trends. Eventually, we are going to have to seek either to have a voucher system and no publicly owned and run schools so that kids can have religion taught in schools, which current law would allow, or have the Supreme Court revise its precedents to allow nondenominational prayer and release time denominational instruction in the schools.

[snarks_when_bored]

Your post is clearly written, but surely you understand that no public school teacher will be permitted to recommend that students speak to their parents about matters of "faith and morals".

[narby]

Hope for victory in the culture wars requires that we pick fights that we can and do win in the short term even as we aim at the larger cultural reformation that goes against current trends.

You are very correct.

As demonstrated during the last 150 years, evolution cannot be defeated, simply because it's true. Thus it is a waste of time for culture warriors to try.

There are a great many things Christians should be fighting for in the political realm, but attacks on evolution merely marginalize anyone making the attempt, and do more damage by shooting your own foot than to evolution.

[Chiapet]

Here's the beginning of a solution that the ACLU and the public schools would hate but be hard put to dispute. Require that every public school regularly and expressly warn their students and parents: "Current federal court rulings mean that we cannot teach religion or matters of faith and morals. Students, ask your parents and follow their teachings. Parents, teach your students about faith and morals." Post that in every student and parent handbook, in every textbook, and in every classroom. And, in the biology texts, put in a similar warning that evolution should not be taken as refuting religious faith.

It isn't that I disagree with the premise of your solution, but should that even be necessary? Do you really think that parents of schoolchildren should expect anything different? I mean really, I don't know of any sane person who expects that schools (public, not parochial) teach faith and morals.