…And on the 8th day, God made Texas.
Intelligent Design (or creationism with lab-coats) scored a victory in Texas (or as the late Molly Ivins called it, the National Laboratory for Bad Government): Governor Rick Perry forced Chris Comer, his director of Science Curriculum at the Texas Education Agency, to resign after she forwarded on an email promoting an anti-creationism lecture. Officially, she was accused of “creating the appearance of bias against teaching intelligent design.”
Well, I hope so.
Ms. Comer, given her title, should have no compunction about teaching evolution and every cause for concern about teaching creationism.
I am not a scientist, and I suppose I should care little for the curricula of Texas, but this really sucks. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has stated that “intelligent design, and other claims of supernatural intervention in the origin of life” are not science because they cannot be tested by experiment, do not generate any predictions, and propose no new hypotheses of their own.
So is Texas now breaking the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment? That would seem to be the case. In the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case, the judge in ruling against the ID proponents said,
ID’s backers have sought to avoid the scientific scrutiny which we have now determined that it cannot withstand by advocating that the controversy, but not ID itself, should be taught in science class. This tactic is at best disingenuous, and at worst a canard. The goal of the IDM is not to encourage critical thought, but to foment a revolution which would supplant evolutionary theory with ID.”
“Accordingly, 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, in violation of the Establishment Clause.”
The proper application of both the endorsement and Lemon tests to the facts of this case makes it abundantly clear that the Board’s ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause. In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents.
UPDATE: Americans United weighs in. AU is a wonderful organization, fighting for all of us in trying to keep church and state separate. Please give them a click.
you’re so delightful…thanks.
These are dark and dangerous times, when we are actually questioning science and wanting to include religious ideas side by side with science.
You know that I am a person of faith, deep faith, but I have no problem knowing the full breadth and depth of natural science as an intellectual and scholarly pursuit.
The notion of ID as science or anything resembling it is insane. If folks want to believe that, then go believe that and leave the rest of us out of it. We have (of course the wingtards would have you believe otherwise) public school curricula that is created for the broader benefit of our children and of our society.
I will happily sail forth with a boatload of 10,000 atheists over a trip with Bible-thumping literal wingnut types. While I might not be in agreement with the atheists, I imagine we would spend our days at sea in discussion and debate. And honestly, the nightlife would be pretty good. The others would be boring as they insisted I only see the world through their eyes. Then they’d probably throw me overboard for my crazy-ass view of natural science and history.
Seriously though- this is very bad stuff and we must be vigilant. Laugh though we might, imagine Huckabee in the White House, as a VP, or cabinet member even. Imgagine the elected officials we might end up with as a result of severe wingtard-dom.
Thanks for posting this important piece Tengrain.
The thing that gives me hope is knowing that if someone tried to force creationism into the curriculum in the school district my nephew and nieces attend, he or she would be tarred and feathered, at best. That said, Texas is a big state and there are only so many jobs available flipping burgers or greeting customers at WalMart.
This is excellent, Tengrain! Now, we just need to get everyone to join Americans United for Separation of Church and State so we can continue to fight these battles!
BAC
[...] …And on the 8th day, God made Texas. [...]
This is especially worrisome because Texas (along with California) tends to be a bellwether state in the world of education. Where they go, other states follow ….
That said, Texas is a big state and there are only so many jobs available flipping burgers or greeting customers at WalMart.
Yes, but at least the on-the-job chitchat would be really high-level, because in Texas those will be the only kinds of jobs that real science teachers will be able to get.
I wonder if the Dover PA court case a couple of years ago is a relevant legal precedent here.
Everything is bigger in Texas.
Especially the assholes.
The thing that bothers me is that everyone knows I created the Universe, but are they teaching that in schools?