From David Warmflash at Genetic Literacy Project:
There’s a problem facing college biology educators on how to teach evolution in a setting where many students hold creationist views. These evolution deniers are not a fringe element on college campuses, even among students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. There are substantial numbers of college STEM students who begin college biology already with minds set against evolution. Instead of writing those students off as lost causes, educators are trying different approaches to reach them.
…
A few years ago, evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins spoke one-on-one with students at London’s Park High School, where students were known to have an anti-evolution mindset connected with religious upbringings. Dawkins was able to make a point of the fact that the various religions in which the students were raised — Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam — disagreed amongst themselves on traditional creations stories, but that all included leaders who were both religious and yet accepted evolution. More.
Yes, and all religions include both philanthropists and mass murderers as well. Most such persons will claim that their religion endorses their view. So?
Why would anyone who was embarking on teaching evolution as a serious project try to involve a virulently anti-religious figure like Dawkins in the argument? Dawkins just got dumped from Berkeley radio for that specific reason.
Many of us feel that the radio station was quite wrong to disinvite him. But the episode should apprise a reasonable person that Dawkins is not the right person to represent evolution for the 21st century. Which is not the Darwinism these people are still trying to dump on the public.
Pos-Darwinista (hat tip) asks: Why not teach evolution objectively???
Because objectivity is not the Genetic Literacy Project’s tax-funded religion. “Evolution” is, however, as they have usefully demonstrated. Otherwise, they would have asked someone who was not a lightning rod for contention about religion for help.
File this one with Tales of the Tone Deaf, featuring dim profs writing in dozy journals about why people doubt Science and how to fix them.
See also: What the fossils told us in their own words
Mark Steyn on Richard Dawkins getting dumped at Berkeley
Evolution News and Views on Dawkins dumped from Berkeley: Did it serve him right?
and
Dawkins dumped from Berkeley due to “hurtful words”