In the US there's a constitutional provision for freedom of religion, so people go to court and make the legal argument that teaching creationism is improper government endorsement of particular religion. And so it is, and that's a perfectly adequate reason for keeping it out of government-run schools. However the fact that creationism has religious elements isn't even close to the main problem with it. The main problem is that it's shockingly bad science: not even minimally honest and all kinds of willfully ignorant to boot. Unfortunately, in a democracy with lots of religious conservatives, that's not enough of a reason to ensure that it doesn't get taught, so you fight with the weapons you have on the terrain you can defend.
However if you do have a science-friendly legislature, then I think a defensible policy for them to impose is that religious people and religious schools can teach what religious doctrines they like, they just can't call it science and keep their accreditation. Conversely, if a science course (say in biology) would naturally mention evolution and it's been left out, then it shouldn't count as a prerequisite for further study. Whether that's an acceptable compromise to religious conservatives, it should nevertheless be the final offer. If that leads them to keep their children out of science classes, so be it - there are other honorable and profitable careers besides science.
Read other answers by Mark Barton on Quora:
- Creationism: If the scientific consensus on the 4.55 billion year age of the Earth were disproven, would Darwinian evolution collapse?
- Do grad school students remember everything they were taught in college all the time?
- Question That Contains Assumptions: Why do people hate Young Earth creationists?
from Quora http://ift.tt/29OHDNh
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