The Teaching of Evolution in UK Schools Mandatory

by Joe Grundy 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  NewChapter

  In the US, in the public schools, they teach evolution. That doesn't stop local school board from trying to slip Intelligent Design into the schools disguised as science. These cases lose when pressed in court. They are insidious and always looking for trickly ways to introduce the ideas into the science class. I think some Texas schools put a sticker inside their text books claiming that there are alternative theories (no valid alternative theories at the point). I would have to look it up, to give better details though.

  As far as those faith-based schools here, apparently freedom of speech means parents have the right to keep there children in pure ignorance. A family member was very proud that she found a Christian school that does not even have the word Evolution in the text books. It made her glow with happiness. What a tragedy.
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  Joe Grundy

  NC:

  Thanks for that, though it made me sad.

  In some ways, the US is held up as one of the few states (countries) in which religion is held at bay because of its constitution. It doesn't actually seem to work out too well. Can you imagine a presidential candidate who was a declared atheist? No, nor me. One day, may be ...
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  cofty

  But there are other theories, including that of intelligent design, which should also be presented if there is evidence to support it.

  There isn't.

  ID is religion pure and simple. It is exactly what I meant when I said I was pleased that the government was stopping faith schools from lying to children.
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  Chaserious

  Thanks James - this is what I don't understand. Given that education is a government-mandated requirement federal or state), how can it incorporate religious beliefs?

  Joe - I think that for state-funded schools, the U.S. and U.K. are on the same page. While I don't know much about the U.K. school system, it appears to me that the free schools still are paid for by the government. In schools that are government funded, e.g. all public schools, creationism/intelligent design cannot be taught. I think the difference may be that in the U.S., parents have the right to send their children to private religious schools where the parents pay tuition in order to attend. This was established in a Supreme Court case called Pierce v. Society of Sisters. In that case, basically a state said that to meet our mandatory education requirements you have to go to a public school, and not a religious school. At the time, Catholics were a disfavored minority in the U.S. (and also the main proprietors of religious schools), and the law was seen as anti-Catholic. The state was not allowed to impose such a law under our Constitution. That case is from back in the 1920's, but it's still the law here. So, in the private schools, religious doctrine may be taught as the school sees fit.