[count-your-change]

Galileo's experience with the Catholic Church is brought up when an example is needed to illustrate the unscientific intolerance of deviation from the orthodoxy of the day.
Today the orthodoxy that claims it is the all embracing truth is the evolution doctrine in all it's expressions. Imagine the reaction in the houses of worship of learning and science to someone who dissents from that “beyond all doubt or question” doctrine of evolution. We need not imagine, they would first be branded with that dread epithet, “Creationist” and see their livelihood and reputation savaged.
Now perhaps if they recanted their heresy they might be allowed to be left alone so long as they remain silent.
The actors since the days of Galileo have changed in a bit of role reversal but the script is the same.
At least Galileo wasn't accused of corrupting the nation's youth.
The author says that various groups twist the theory of evolution to their needs. True enough but the author also fails to note that evolution is said to be random, undirected by intelligence, so who can say evolution would not produce a result that might be considered undesirable in the social context of today? And that despite individual responses to the amount of nature/nurture they receive.
What in evolutionary theory would make this unlikely or impossible?
“ But the fact that something has been misused in the past does not make it bad, or even untrue. Moreover, applying evolution to understanding ourselves offers, for example, a potentially powerful antidote to some of the things that the left fears the most: ethnocentrism and racism. That's because evolution emphasizes the underlying biological commonality shared by all members of the species Homo sapiens, regardless of superficial differences. As for sexism, doesn't that reside in differential valuing of the sexes, not in the struggle to understand them?”
Nor does it make it true. Evolution theory may emphasize “commonality” it does not emphasize equality, in fact it makes inequality justifiable on a genetic basis if not a social one.
Far from evolution theory being twisted into racism and ethnocentrism, these are simply the fruits of the poison tree, Evolution.

[Coyoteman]

At least Galileo wasn't accused of corrupting the nation's youth.

Galileo was a piker. See Darwin Central's motto for a comparison!

; - )

[Soliton]

Far from evolution theory being twisted into racism and ethnocentrism, these are simply the fruits of the poison tree, Evolution.

The truth is just the truth. It isn't good or evil. It just is.

Before Hitler came for the Jews, the Church did. Beware of the log in your own eye!