Alliance For Science - In The News

Creationism bill is now law in Louisiana

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 06:46:23 -0600

"Academic Freedom" bill based on Discovery Institute model signed by Governor Jindal

It's a sad day for supporters of evidence-based science. On Friday, Louisiana's Governor "Bobby" Jindal signed the Louisiana Science Education Act into law -- see this report in The Times Picayune. This law will make it easy for creationist teachers to introduce materials that criticize evolutionary science, without any prior evaluation or review of their quality, accuracy, or appropriateness for public school science classes. Competent non-creationist teachers will no doubt be besieged by creationist parents and church groups eager to introduce "alternative viewpoints." There is an ill-defined process for challenging inappropriate materials, but it remains to be seen whether this will be even marginally effective. The bill contains provisions that would seem to exclude the use of explicitly religious materials, but it would not be surprising to see this provision flouted. If not flouted outright, expect heavy use of "code words" promoted by the Discovery Institute, e.g. "intelligent designer" instead of "creator", or "design event" in place of "miracle."

Board of Ed initiates termination proceedings against creationist teacher

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:38:00 -0600

In Mount Vernon, Ohio, the District Board of Education voted unanimously on June 20th to initiate termination proceedings against middle school science teacher John Freshwater. The teacher introduced the Bible and other religious materials into his classroom and routinely criticized evolution for being incompatible with the Bible. He had been instructed before to remove the creationist materials, but brought in more instead. The last straw appears to be when it was disclosed that he used an electrostatic device to burn a cross into a students arm. There is a long history to this case -- check out this post on Panda's Thumb for some background, and click here for the Freshwater termination resolution."

"Academic Freedom" Creationism's New Smoke Screen

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:41:17 -0600

Bill in Louisiana is almost certain to become law

What do Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, and South Carolina all have in common? They are all states where anti-evolution legislation has been introduced within the last year. Thanks to the hard work of scientists, teachers, and grassroots organizations, the efforts of creationists in Alabama, Florida, Missouri and South Carolina have been contained, at least temporarily. However, creationist hopes continue in Michigan and they are on the verge of fulfillment in Louisiana. Texas is also at risk, owing to strong creationist support on the State Board of Education.

By a landslide, UMC votes support for science

Fri, 23 May 2008 11:30:36 -0600

In an earlier post we noted the adoption of three excellent resolutions at the quadrennial United Methodist Church (UMC) General Convention. That report was based on preliminary information, and lacked details on the final vote tallies. Thanks to Al Kuelling, a retired physicist who authored two of the three resolutions, we now have all the details.

The vote tallies are simply astounding. These resolutions passed by majorities that ranged from very comfortable to absolutely crushing. You can click on the petition number in the table below to see the offical results on the UMC site, which includes a link to the full text of the petition.

United Methodist Church Endorses Clergy Letter Project

Tue, 13 May 2008 04:56:04 -0600

UMC proclaims evolution, theology compatible; opposes teaching ID or creationism as science.

Michael Zimmerman, Director of the Clergy Letter Project, brings us news of a landmark achievement. The United Methodist Church (UMC) has formally endorsed the Clergy Letter Project and encourages clergy to participate. The Clergy Letter Project is a web-based effort that encourages Christian clergy to sign a public letter endorsing the compatiblity of evolutionary science and religious belief. As of May 12th, 2008, 11,216 clergy have signed the letter.

Expelled Exposed!

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:31:07 -0600

One thing that can be said for creationists is that they are persistent, and this is true for both openly-religious creationists and for their intelligent design brethren. "Intelligent design" advocates have contributed nothing of real value in the way of peer-reviewed published research, and their popular writings have been dissected and thoroughly refuted by a broad spectrum of scientists, philosophers, and even theologians.

Once again spurning any real effort to actually do science, IDs latest venture is Ben Stein's pseudo-documentary "Expelled". It has received many scathing reviews, even from conservative outlets like Fox News, whose reviewer Roger Friedman said:

"Expelled" is a sloppy, all-over-the-place, poorly made (and not just a little boring) "expose" of the scientific community. It’s not very exciting. But it does show that Stein, who’s carved out a career selling eye drops in commercials and amusing us on sitcoms, is either completely nuts or so avaricious that he’s abandoned all good sense to make a buck.

The NCSE has rounded up some of the most penetrating and authoritative critiques on their new site Expelled Exposed. The tag line "Flunked, not Expelled: What Ben Stein isn't telling you about Intelligent Design." is very apt. We urge all our readers to check out this site!

Anti-Evolution legislation proposed in Louisiana and Florida

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:29:48 -0600

It appears that intelligent design and creationism advocates have settled firmly on "academic freedom" as their latest battle cry. In Florida, while efforts to subvert the statewide science education standards were unsuccessful, anti-evolutionists continue their attempts to push "academic freedom" legislation based on models put forward by the Discovery Institute. See this NCSE Florida Anti-Evolution Update for the latest developments there.

Louisiana, where supporters of genuine science education can never rest easy, now also will be considering anti-evolution legislation in the guise of "academic freedom." Actually, the Louisiana bill is more than just an anti-evolution bill. They also target chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloining. See the NCSE report on Louisiana anti-evolution legislation for further details.

Creationism Hot Spots to Watch in 2008

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:46:38 -0700

Creationist Threats in Texas, Florida, and South Carolina

While "intelligent design" advocates have yet to really regroup after their disastrous defeat in the highly publicized Dover-Kitzmiller trial, all is not well. New anti-science rumblings are being heard, and some of these are tied to old-school creationists, some of them of the "young earth" variety:

Texas #1 - The Comer Controversy: There is a furor surrounding the forced resignation of science curriculum direcotr Christine Comer from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Ms. Comer's offense? She forwarded an email (using her TEA email account) announcing a lecture by Barbara Forrest, a nationally prominent expert in the philosophy and history of science who served as an expert witness for the prosecution in the Dover trial. The NCSE has been covering this issue closely. See the latest in the Comer controversy. 150 PhD biology faculty members from Texas universities have written a very powerful and articulate letter Defending Biological Evolution as a Central Pillar of Modern Science Education.

Louisiana Senator withdraws $100K earmark for creationist group

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:51:42 -0600

Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has withdrawn a controversial earmark that would have allocated $100,000 dollars to the Louisiana Family Forum, a group that has attacked evolution and endorsed creationism. The earmark was ostensibly to allow the group to 'improve' science education in Louisiana. After considerable protest, the Senator withdrew the earmark, which had been part of a budget for the departments of labor, health, human services, and education. More details can be found in this NCSE Article.

Kentucky Visitors Bureau Removes Inflammatory Language Promoting Creation Museum

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 21:02:33 -0600

According to cincinnatti.com, the online site of The Enquirer newspaper, the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau has removed some highly inflammatory language from its website. Referring to the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, the language on the Visitors Bureau site said "This 'walk through history' museum will counter evolutionary natural history museums that turn countless minds against Christ and Scripture." The Kentucky Paleontological Society and others had protested this language, claiming it was inappropriate for a taxpayer-supported institution. It does not appear that the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau was deliberately trying to take a controversial stand. Instead, they had merely copied language from the Answers In Genesis website. The offending language has now been removed. The Visitors Bureau has not offered any public statement concerning the removal. Read the full newspaper article for more details.

Pope Benedict: "...proof in favor of evolution"

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 09:56:03 -0600

Pope Benedict XVI has made his strongest statement yet endorsing the validity of evolutionary science and the compatibility of that science with the Roman Catholic faith. This MSNBC article quotes the Pope as follows: “They are presented as alternatives that exclude each other,” the pope said. “This clash is an absurdity because on one hand there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and which enriches our understanding of life and being as such.”

This statement is noteworthy because earlier, less specific statements by Pope Benedict hinted of possible support for the "intelligent design" perspective and leaning against evolution. This concern was heightened because of the Pope's close relationship with Cardinal Schoenborn, who openly supported intelligent design, as evidenced in the Cardinal's Op Ed piece that appeared in the New York Times in July of 2005.

Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists disputes Creation Museum

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 09:41:41 -0600

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists has issued a press release that is highly critical of the Answers In Genesis "Creation Museum". The Society "contends that the museum presents visitors with a view of earth history that has been scientifically disproven for over a century.". Fossil expert Dr. Kevin Padian, referring to the "Creation Museum"'s founder: "Ken Ham is not recognized as a scientist or educator among experts in the fields of geology and paleontology, and his views on the interpretation of Biblical texts are extremist. Visitors to his ‘museum’ may arrive knowing little about these sciences, but they will leave misled and intellectually deceived.."

Bizarre, Biblically Inaccurate, or Scientifically Unsound

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:31:55 -0600

Those are the words that describe what a majority of likely American voters think about the Creation "Museum", as reported in a nationwide poll. The poll was conducted by Lake Research Associates on behalf of DEFCON. What is noteworthy is that nearly half (49%) of "white evangelicals or fundamentalists only" also placed the Creation "Museum" in one of those three disapproving categories.

Science Community Responds to Creation "Museum"

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:56:43 -0600

The scientific community's response to the Answers in Genesis Creation "Museum" has been swift and strong. Scientists and educators worldwide decry the numerous scientific errors on display. For a summary and links to much more information, see the NCSE Story. Also, Lawrence Krauss's 'Top 10 Reasons Why the Universe, the Sun, the Earth, and Life are not 6000 years old (PDF)" is a "must see".