Religion & Law

Editorial Discretion

By John Pieret

From a good editorial in the Tampa Bay Times:

With newly passed science standards that require the teaching of evolution, Florida is finally on track to give its young people a solid educational grounding for careers in biology and medical science.

Not so fast, says state Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico. Because evolution, the scientific theory that undergirds modern biological science, conflicts with her religious beliefs, Storms is willing to sow confusion and misinformation in science classes around the state. ...

Were Storms' bill to become law she would be buying the state an expensive church-state lawsuit it is sure to lose and embarrassing Florida as a state where religion trumps science in public education.

The debate over evolution ended nearly a century ago in places that sincerely want to prepare young people for the future. If Florida expects to encourage the biotechnology sector to relocate here, it needs to reject both the House and Senate bills. ...

Storms and those who supported her bill should leave science education to the experts, and they should leave their religion out of state law.

Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on April 24, 2008 (boomark / email).