Ga. county considers policy to allow teaching creationism. (People & Events).Members of the Cobb County, Ga., School Board are considering a policy that would allow science teachers to offer instruction in "intelligent design" and "scientific 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). " in class. The county, just north of Atlanta, has been the site of several Religious Right-provoked "culture wars" in recent years. The policy under consideration in the most recent flap, Americans United asserts, is a thinly veiled effort to bring religion into public school science classrooms. On Aug. 22, Cobb County's school board voted unanimously to spend 30 days studying a proposal to allow public school teachers to discuss "disputed views of academic subjects," including human origins. Supporters of the proposal have said the policy would allow science classes to introduce creationism into the curriculum. The issue has been simmering in the county for some time. Earlier this year, more than 2,000 residents signed a petition attacking new science books used in the county schools because the texts teach evolution. Parents packed the meeting, many offering testimony for or against the proposal. One parent, Adele Marticke, told The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times, "The loud voices of the extremist few have drowned out Drowned Out is a 2002 documentary by Franny Armstrong about the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project. It closely follows a family that is unwilling to leave its village home as the water levels of the Narmada River, mostly because the government provides them no viable the voice of the moderate majority." The Rev. 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, said the proposal raises constitutional concerns and should be voted down. "Any proposal encouraging public school teachers to offer religious lessons is wholly inconsistent with the separation of church and state
Continued Lynn, "Sunday School 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. lessons masquerading as science have no place in public school classrooms. This proposal raises serious legal questions and should be swiftly rejected." Shortly before the vote, Americans United's Legal Department contacted Cobb County officials about the proposed policy. AU attorneys explained that federal courts have consistently ruled that public schools cannot engage in religious indoctrination Religious indoctrination refers to customary rites of passage for the indoctrination of persons into a particular religion and its extended community. Terms generally vary by culture, custom, and language, though some terms, like "baptism," are pluralist and and warned that board approval of the policy may spark a lawsuit. "One board member described `scientific creationism' as the belief that life has evolved in a purposeful way," observed the AU letter. "`Intelligent design' posits that living things Living Things may refer to:
adj. 1. Not clearly or sharply delineated: an indistinct pattern; indistinct shapes in the gloom. 2. Faint; dim: indistinct stars. 3. from creationism. We are writing to inform you that it is grossly unconstitutional to permit the teaching of creationism, by whatever name, in public schools and to ask that you decline to approve any policy that would allow this to occur." AU noted that the Supreme Court has tackled this issue several times. The high court struck down an Arkansas law banning lessons on evolution in 1968. Justices later ruled against the strategy of giving creationism equal time with evolution in the 1987 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 decision. The new proposal is only the latest wrinkle in a long-running battle over the teaching of evolution in Cobb County's public schools. Earlier this year, school board officials approved a measure to insert "disclaimers" in science textbooks, which told students that evolutionary biology should not be considered fact. The American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. is currently challenging the use of that disclaimer in court. "School officials do a disservice to the young people in Cobb County public schools by trying to endorse religion," said AU's Lynn. "These needless controversies distract attention from what should be the district's principal goal providing these students with the best education possible." Despite definitive court rulings on the issue, the Religious Right is engaged in a national crusade to inject creationism--or its latest variant, "intelligent design"--into public school curricula. This year, for example, the Ohio Board of Education considered a proposal to introduce creationist principles into its state curriculum. In addition, AU persuaded education officials in Joes, Colo., to drop a proposal to introduce creationism into its science classes in April. |
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