Posted on 07/11/2008 11:11:46 AM PDT by Kevmo
New legal threat to teaching evolution in the US New Scientist ^ | 7/9/2008 | Amanda Gefter
Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 4:06:06 AM by Soliton
Louisiana is another story. A hub of creationist activism since the early 1980s, it was Louisiana that enacted the Balanced Treatment Act, which required that creationism be taught alongside evolution in schools. In a landmark 1987 case known as Edwards vs Aguillard, the US Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional, effectively closing the door on teaching "creation science" in public schools. ID was invented soon afterwards as a way of proffering creationist concepts without specific reference to God.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
There is likely to be some learning curve experiences while crevo participants adjust to being civil with each other.
We'll follow your lead.
Here’s another thread on the same subject. Now we can have civil discussions on this topic.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043957/posts
Just the facts: LA law protects teachers who bring scientific evidence against Darwinism. . .
WORLD ^ | July 12, 2008 | Mark Bergin
Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 8:06:50 AM by rhema
A bill protecting the critical analysis of evolution by Louisiana public school teachers outraged committed Darwinists last month when it cruised through both houses of the state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. Not a single state senator voted against the Science Education Act and just three of 97 state representatives opposed it—this despite strong public relations campaigns condemning the legislation from several high-profile organizations and individuals.
In the wake of that crushing defeat, the rhetoric of the bill’s opponents morphed into threats of costly lawsuits. The Louisiana Coalition for Science called the development an “embarrassment” and warned that it would attract “unflattering national attention.” Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said, “Louisiana taxpayers should not have their money squandered on this losing effort.” Marjorie Esman, director of the local ACLU chapter, reminded supporters: “We’re known for suing school boards.”
What’s all the fuss about? The Louisiana Science Education Act, which mirrors legislation receiving serious consideration in a handful of other states, protects the right of teachers and administrators “to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories being studied including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.”
In other words, the bill supports a more thorough examination of controversial topics, complete with scientific explanations as to why such areas of study spark controversy. Anticipating suspicions of ulterior motives, the legislation also includes a proscription against its misuse “to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.”
Nevertheless, a New York Times editorial labeled the bill an “assault on Darwin” and compared it to the Louisiana legislature’s effort to force biblical creationism into public classrooms in the 1980s. Barbara Forrest, a professor of philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University and a founding member of the Louisiana Coalition for Science, called the legislation “a creationist bill written in creationist code language.”
When WORLD reached Forrest by phone, she declined to comment. She stated in a press release that the bill’s authors are creationists “using the same old tricks, but with new labels.”
Darwinists have long sought to dismiss intelligent design (ID), an alternate theory of origins, as repackaged creationism. That strategy proved successful in a landmark court decision against a Dover, Pa., school board in 2005, when a federal judge declared ID inherently religious and its inclusion in the classroom therefore unconstitutional. But categorically dismissing critical analysis of evolution as equally unconstitutional is a far tougher sell—no doubt explaining why numerous states with critical analysis of Darwinism in their official science standards have yet to face legal challenge.
John West of the Discovery Institute, which advocates teaching the evidence for and against Darwinism, says the Louisiana Science Education Act and other similar bills stand on firmer legal ground than the unchallenged proscriptions for critical analysis in several states’ science standards: “This bill does nothing to help a teacher promote religion in the classroom,” he said. “Why is it unconstitutional for a teacher to point out that mutations are almost always harmful and in just a few cases neutral, which poses a huge problem if you believe all the major innovations in life were driven by a blind process of natural selection and random mutations? That answer is, it’s not unconstitutional.”
Some Darwinists recognize that. In a column for the American Chronicle, self-described atheist Jason Streitfeld urges support for the bill, which he says promotes “exactly what American students need: encouragement to think critically about controversial topics.” Streitfeld further argues that “by reacting negatively to this bill, atheists and supporters of Darwinian evolutionary theory are proving their opponents right: they are acting like reason and the facts are not on their side.”
West says the propensity of Darwinists to threaten lawsuits and scare teachers or districts out of critically analyzing evolution stems from an unwillingness to engage on scientific merits and betrays their vulnerability. The Science Education Act, which Democratic Sen. Ben Nevers originally proposed under the title Academic Freedom Act, signals teachers and districts that the state will back them should they choose to undertake a more thorough handling of controversial topics.
Opinion polls show large public majorities in many states favor teaching the evidence for and against Darwinism. Among science teachers, that support dips but remains significant enough to suggest the Louisiana Science Education Act and other bills like it will have a considerable impact on how students encounter evolution.
ACLU director Esman admits that if the law “works as it should, it shouldn’t be a problem.” But she worries that it may leave room “for things to get sneaked into the classroom that shouldn’t be there.” That suspicion is shared among many of the bill’s detractors, who point out the religious motivation of such supportive groups as the Louisiana Family Forum, an evangelical organization with strong ties to Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.
But supporters counter that many of the bill’s opponents maintain strong atheistic commitments, a correlation given far less publicity or credence in major media reporting. Indeed, much of the public campaigning and calls to arms against the legislation played out on evolutionary biologist and popular science author Richard Dawkins’ pro-atheist website. West contends that all such religious motivations for passing new laws are irrelevant in assessing the legality and value of the policy: “Should we repeal all the civil rights laws because lots of American Christians supported them? That’s a preposterous argument. The most important thing is what the law actually says.”
Letter of the law: Key elements of the Louisiana Science Education Act
Requires the state board of education to support the wishes of a local school board if it requests assistance in helping teachers and administrators promote critical analysis and open scientific discussion of theories related to evolution, origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.
Requires that such assistance from the state board include guidance for teachers in developing effective methods to help students analyze and critique scientific theories.
Requires that a teacher first present material in the school system’s standard textbook before bringing in additional resources for further analysis and scientific critique.
Prohibits any promotion of religious doctrine or discrimination for or against religious beliefs, religion, or nonreligion.
There is now a parallel ecumenical thread in place to discuss this topic on a more polite level.
You realize that Occam's razor cuts both ways, don't you?
Intelligent design is going to be butchered like never before under this law. And just you watch! Some folks will squeal about religious persecution when it's done!
This sounds good on the surface and I am for the text itself. Critical analysis is a foundation of good science and should be promoted. Unfortunately, the the Discovery Institute is behind it so I know there's an underlying agenda to replace science with theology despite the text of the law.
It looks like the ACLU is already rearing its head.
“Marjorie Esman, director of the local ACLU chapter, reminded supporters: “We’re known for suing school boards.”
Yeah, but those other threads invariably give one opportunity to add new entries to his Big List O' Epithets.
Intelligent design is going to be butchered like never before under this law.
***I think ID can handle the pressure. It will be better off as a result of this criticism, much like the textual criticisms aimed at the bible in the 19th century. After that little exercise, the new testament documents were stronger in their historicity than any other contemporary set of documents. The same will happen with ID.
Unfortunately, the the Discovery Institute is behind it so I know there’s an underlying agenda to replace science with theology despite the text of the law.
***Arguing against something because of who is for it or behind it is ad hominem argumentation, invalid.
Thanks for the link. Such a thread would have had even post #1 thrown out by the ecumenical rules.
Yeah, but those other threads invariably give one opportunity to add new entries to his Big List O’ Epithets.
***I don’t understand what you’re saying.
The problem you will run into is that ID is neither good science nor good religion.
As science it is a failure; it was cooked up to try to replace creation "science" and it has no more real science behind it than creation "science" ever did. The few attempts to patch some science into ID (such as irreducible complexity) have failed miserably.
As religion it is the belief that dare not speak its name.
The problem you will run into is that ID is neither good science nor good religion.
***Then it gets tossed. We shall see. From the discussions on crevo threads that I’ve seen, the IDers seem to be good scientists. I myself have had people who like to defend science tell me that the science behind the historicity of Jesus’ death is unreliable. These people obviously haven’t examined the evidence, so it’s proof enough to me that they work on an agenda and their thinking is skewed.
As religion it is the belief that dare not speak its name.
***That’s great. I love it, because those of us on this other thread went round & round on the scientism religion that dare not speak its name.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2038869/posts
The discussions tend to degenerate rapidly into ad hominem volleys of epithets. In many cases, that’s about all they’re good for: a lot of heat, little light.
That’s exactly why I opened the same discussions under a different set of rules. More light, less heat.
And its entirely appropriate to discuss intelligent design in the Religion Forum! ; - )
And its entirely appropriate to discuss intelligent design in the Religion Forum! ; - )
***I agree. It’s also entirely appropriate to discuss nascientism in the Religion Forum! ; - )
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