Gov. Sonny Perdue said Saturday the word "evolution" should stay in the curriculum used for Georgia students, his first effort to quell a firestorm of controversy swirling around a volatile blend of religion and science.
"If you're going to teach evolution, you ought to call it evolution," the Republican governor said during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "By that I mean, there ought to be a balance. Evolution, as I understand it, is an academic theory. I think it should be taught as an academic theory."
The governor sought to end a dispute surrounding last week's proposal by state School Superintendent Kathy Cox to replace the word "evolution" with "biological changes over time," a phrase that scientists describe as meaningless.
Perdue's comments, his first definitive statement on the issue, came just after he addressed the Georgia Christian Coalition's Families & Freedom Kickoff at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta. The governor did not mention the controversy during his speech.
"The name is what it is, and we should call it that," Perdue said. "I think that Superintendent Cox . . . will listen to the people on these proposals. In this business you don't get the privilege of thinking out loud. And I think Superintendent Cox was thinking out loud."
Perdue said he had not "had the opportunity" to discuss the issue with the superintendent. ...