'Intelligent design' challenged in Pa. public school.Americans United for Separation of Church and State Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a religious freedom advocacy group in the United States which promotes the separation of church and state, a legal doctrine seen by the AU as being enshrined in the Establishment and the Americans Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania are challenging in federal court the promotion of "intelligent design" in public school classrooms. In October, Pennsylvania's Dover Area School Board ruled that biology teachers must present "intelligent design" (ID) as an alternative to the scientific theory of evolution. The lawsuit filed in federal court on Dec. 14 on behalf of 11 parents is the first one to challenge the use of ID in public school science classes. ID, the latest variant of creationism creationism or creation science, belief in the biblical account of the creation of the world as described in Genesis, a characteristic especially of fundamentalist Protestantism (see fundamentalism). , is an assertion that an intelligent supernatural entity has intervened in the history of life. "Public schools are not Sunday schools Sunday school, institution for instruction in religion and morals, usually conducted in churches as part of the church organization but sometimes maintained by other religious or philanthropic bodies. In England during the 18th cent. , and we must resist any efforts to make them so," said Barry W. Lynn Reverend Barry W. Lynn (born 1948 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) has been the Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State since 1992.[1] , executive director of Americans United, in a press statement about the lawsuit. "There is an evolving attack under way on sound education, and the school board's action in Dover is part of that misguided crusade. 'Intelligent design' has about as much to do with science as reality television has to do with reality." The two groups' lawsuit, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al., Case No. 04cv2688, was the first direct challenge brought in the United States federal courts against a public school district that required the presentation of "Intelligent Design" as an alternative to , argues that teaching religious concepts in public school science courses entangles government with religion, violating the First Amendment. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard Edwards v. Aguillard, was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution was taught that the belief that a supernatural creator is responsible for the origins of humankind is a religious one and cannot be taught in public school science classes. (For more about this topic, see next month's issue of Church & State.) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion