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'Intelligent design' teaching ban.
A court in the US has ruled against the teaching of the theory of "intelligent design" alongside Darwinian evolution. A group of parents in the Pennsylvania town of Dover had taken the school board to court for demanding biology classes not teach evolution as fact. The authorities wanted to introduce the theory that Earth's life was too complicated to have evolved on its own from We find that the secular purposes claimed by the board amount to a pretext for the board's real purpose, which was to promote religion, Judge John Jones They complained the theory - which argues life must have been helped to develop by an unseen power The school board argued they had sought to improve science education by exposing pupils to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. But Judge Jones said he had determined that ID was not science and "cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents". Is Judge Jones a bloody scientist and qualified to make this judgement? In a 139-page written ruling, the judge said: "Our conclusion today is that it is He accused school board members of disguising their true motives for introducing the ID policy. "We find that the secular purposes claimed by the board amount to a pretext for the board's real purpose, which was to promote religion in the public school classroom," he said...as he put away the clerk's Bible from the bench. He banned any future implementation of the policy in Dover schools. The case, the first of its kind, sets an important precedent in a country where several states have adopted the teaching of ID, reports the BBC's James Coomerasamy in Washington. Ironically, he adds, it is a somewhat academic ruling in the Dover area since parents there voted last month to replace the school board members who brought in the policy. That move provoked US TV evangelist Pat Robertson to warn the town was invoking A lawyer for the parents said the ruling was a "real vindication" for those families who challenged the school board. Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-20 |
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