A friend has written to note that the British Centre for Science Education seems, by its name, to be modelled on the National Center for Science Education, an American Darwin lobby. But, if so, BCSE may not have read the manual carefully. NCSE has been careful not to unnecessarily alienate folks of a religious persuasion.
Indeed, their longtime executive director, Eugenie Scott, emphasizes that where such folk are concerned, a clergy collar beats two lab coats in assuring people that there is no conflict between Darwin and Christ.
But the BCSE has not been so cautious. Our friend thinks they “have let the cat out of the bag regarding their real anti-religious agenda. I was somewhat surprised to find that they are moving beyond discussions of science and education to explicitly criticising religion. They have now taken to weighing in on theological debates, such as this piece posted on their site yesterday concerning a discussion of the historical reliability of a religious text:
One loud scottish supporter of the C4ID who is insistent that it has nothing to do with creationism or religion has been spotted being a hypocrite here.
The post then links to a “Friendly Atheist” site to develop the point.
The Funniest Thing You’ll See a Christian Do All Day… “In this article, I am going to focus specifically on the historical accuracy of the Qur’an. …
Why is BCSE even interested in this question? Historical accuracy of religious documents is a legitimate discussion, but not one for science education. Unless “science education” comes to include “friendly atheist” issues …
Friend comments, “I’m stunned that the NCSE (who are much more sophisticated than the BCSE) would associate themselves with this group.”
Well, one can hear the sound of doors slamming in NCSE’s face, should they come to be perceived as just another atheist lobby. But they may not be able to do much about BCSE, and can’t risk a public rift over an issue like this. Especially now that they have gone into climate change activism as well as Darwin lobbying
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