Evolution Creation Debate

The lawsuit brought by 11 parents and the ACLU against the Dover Area School District began Monday at federal court in Pennsylvania. In October 2004 Dover became the first school system in the US to require that students be exposed to the concept of "intelligent design" before biology lessons on evolution. The text read to grade 9 students follows:

"The Pennsylvania Academic Standards require students to learn about Darwin's Theory of Evolution and eventually to take a standardized test of which evolution is a part.

Because Darwin's Theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.

Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People, is available for students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves.

With respect to any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind. The school leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families. As a Standards-driven district, class instruction focuses upon preparing students to achieve proficiency on Standards-based assessments."

More from February 2005 Dover Area School District News

UPDATES:
November 8 voters replaced the school board.
December 20 U.S. District Judge Rules Against Dover School Board.
January 3, 2006 the School Board decided not to appeal unanimously voted to rescind the policy.

A Washington DC thinktank, Pew Research Center, released a poll August 30, 2005 showing:

Most Americans believe that God was responsible for the creation of life on earth but divide on the question of whether and how life has changed since the creation. Overall, 78% say God created life on earth, while 5% think a universal spirit or higher power was responsible for the creation.

Despite this broad agreement regarding the origins of life, the public is deeply divided on precisely how life developed. A plurality of Americans (48%) say that humans and other living things have evolved over time, but nearly as many (42%) say that humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.

The complete report is at http://pewforum.org/docs/index.php?DocID=115#3

Pacific Hills Christian School in Sydney, Australia has become one of the first schools in Australia to teach Intelligent Design theory. Its principal is quoted as saying "Evolution is taught in the school system as if it's a universally accepted theory and there's no other way to view the origin of man and creation. I have trouble with this. We would teach evolution as a theory and ID as an alternative theory."

The full story can be seen in an article in The Australian

Professor Michael Ruse of Florida State University uncovers surprising similarities between evolutionist and creationist thinking in his new book The Evolution-Creation Struggle.

A 24 page excerpt can be downloaded from http://www.hup.harvard.edu/pdf/RUSEVO_excerpt.pdf