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Bush Panders to religious right... again

Bush is now pushing for the concept of "intelligent design" to be be taught in public schools. For the unitiated (or unindoctrinated), the concept of intelligent design is this (from Wikipedia):

Intelligent Design (or ID) is the controversial assertion which states that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by positing an intelligent designer(s). The majority of ID advocates state that their focus is on detecting evidence of design in nature, without regard to who or what the designer might be. However, ID advocate William Dembski in his book "The Design Inference"^[1] lists God or an alien life force as two possible options.

This theory is being promoted by religious right fanatics (such as Bush) who believe that this is a way to push creationism back into public schools. If you're wondering what rational people think of this theory, here's a link to statements from dozens of scientific and scholarly organizations. The two entries from the Ohio Academy of Science, one from 1982 and one from 2000 give you a good idea that issues remain the same, just the names ("creationism" to "intelligent design") have changed.

OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

Forced Teaching of Creationist Beliefs in Public School Science Education

Whereas, it is a responsibility of the Ohio Academy of Science to preserve the integrity of science; and

Whereas, science is a systematic method of investigation based on continuous experimentation, observation, and measurement leading to evolving explanations of natural phenomena, explanations which are continuously open to further testing; and

Whereas, evolution fully satisfies these criteria, irrespective of remaining debates concerning its detailed mechanisms; and

Whereas, the Academy respects the right of people to hold diverse beliefs about creation that do not come within the definitions of science; and

Whereas, Creationist groups are imposing beliefs disguised as science upon teachers and students to the detriment and distortion of public education in the United States;

Therefore, be it resolved that because "Creationist Science" has no scientific validity it should not be taught as science, and further, that the OAS views legislation requiring "Creationist Science" to be taught in public schools as a real and present threat to the integrity of education and the teaching of science; and

Be it further resolved that the OAS urges citizens, educational authorities, and legislators to oppose the compulsory inclusion in science education curricula of beliefs that are not amenable to the process of scrutiny, testing, and revision that is indispensable to science.

This resolution, identical to the AAAS resolution published two months earlier, was adopted by the Council of the OAS on 23 April 1982 and published in the Ohio Journal of Science 82(3):inside back cover, 1982.

OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE (2000) *

A Resolution by The Ohio Academy of Science

Advocacy for Teaching Cosmic, Geological and Biological Evolution and Opposition to Forced Teaching of Creationist Beliefs in Public School Science Education

WHEREAS, it is a responsibility of the Ohio Academy of Science to preserve the integrity of science; and

WHEREAS, science is a systematic method of continuing investigation, based on observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, and theory building, which leads to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena, explanations that are open to further testing, revision, and falsification, and while not “believed in” through faith may be accepted or rejected on the basis of evidence; and

WHEREAS, the theory of evolution, as presently defined, fully satisfies these criteria, especially when its teaching considers the remaining debates concerning its detailed mechanisms; and

WHEREAS, the Academy respects the right of people to hold diverse beliefs about creation that do not come within the definitions of science; and

WHEREAS, some Creationist groups are intent on imposing religious beliefs disguised as science upon teachers and students to the detriment and distortion of public education in the United States;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that because “Creation Science” and “Intelligent Design” have no scientific validity, they should not be taught as science, and further that the OAS views legislation requiring such religious views to be taught in public schools, as though these were legitimate arguments against evolution that should be included as part of a so-called balanced treatment approach, to be a real and present threat to the integrity of education and the teaching of science; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OAS urges citizens, educational authorities, and legislators to oppose the compulsory inclusion in the curricula, the state competencies or proficiency tests for science education of religious beliefs that are not amenable to the process of scrutiny, testing, and revision that is indispensable to science.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the OAS urges citizens, educational authorities, and legislators to include, explicitly, cosmic, geological and biological evolution in the curricula, state competencies and proficiency tests for science education.

posted by Dave @ 7:45 AM