Creationism to be taught in Indiana science classes?

In talking with friends I work with in England, their experiences being taught the doctrines of the Anglican church as a kids might be a pointer to the wisdom of teaching creationism in public schools. At a basic level, I think that creationism should be taught in public schools, but as a matter of comparative religion, along with say, ideas about reincarnation in eastern religions, etc. It's good to be familiar in a comparative way with major streams of thought in human culture, if for no more reason than basic cultural literacy (these same Anglican-raised colleagues are literally shocked when they here what 'creationism' involves in America, for example; they don't know a single young earth creationist in their circles and just were not aware that that idea had any broad support anywhere). But beyond that, I can see the value of teaching creationism in public schools, *as* part of the science curriculum. If were taught *as* as a scientific endeavor and had to account for itself in the syllabus on scientific grounds, I think that would be edifying all the way around. If you taught mainstream science, and were diligent about the strengths, and also the current challenges/criticism facing modern scientific theories (the difficulty of forensic knowledge on abiogenesis, controversies over evo-devo, etc.), all the better. If you applied this in anything resembling an even-handed way to "creationism", then, this would be an eye-opening boon for our students. Creationism would be humiliated, embarrassed by comparison. All that would need be done is just apply scientific epistemology, methods and models, as we would apply them to evolution, physics, chemistry, etc. Teaching Anglican doctrine to my colleagues seems to have been quite effective in neutralizing their religious zeal and credulity. From what they say, the instruction wasn't a caricature of the Church's teaching, but was faith-damaging just by virtue of being taught institutionally. If creationism were to get a solid, non-caricatured, scientific presentation in a science class in our public schools, I think it would very powerfully undermine creationism as a tenable, credible view (in terms of science) for that generation. What seems to be avoided in the discussion of controversies like this is that creationism being taught in science classes is NOT a matter of an alternative scientific theory. Creationism HAS no scientific theory in the scientific sense of the term. Instead, equivocations are deployed, and creationism is injected as "theory" in the colloquial sense -- just a conjecture, as a opposed to a model that meets the criteria of a scientific theory. Where that's successful, that has the (for many theists) desirable effect of neutralizing science qua science. If creationism-as-religious-belief is presented as an epistemic and methodological peer of scientific theories, science isn't very substantial, and by comparison is as credulous and epistemically impoverished as theology. That would be effective politics and rhetoric for creationists, dumbing science down that way, so a lot turns on the presentation in the classroom. If creationism is looked at AS SCIENCE, in SCIENTIFIC TERMS, it's ruinous for creationism. If it's presented as form of nihilism -- no one knows nothin', really, and religious intuitions about creation are as legit and scientifically credible as the models scientists advance.eigenstate

January 28, 2012

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The term "creationism" is often used as a catchall for whatever Darwin's men don't approve of, Joe. Some of us don't know why origin of life is being taught in publicly funded school anyway. It is just NOT a developed science. Students should be spending their time on demonstrable facts, not speculations about what might have happened billions of years ago.News

January 28, 2012

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12:37 PM

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Someone is confused- if creationism is linked to the OoL then it won't be taught along side of the ToE as the ToE doesn't have anything to say about the OoL.Joe

January 28, 2012

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09:51 AM

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