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Four States Consider Permitting Academic Freedom on Evolution

By Michael Baggot

TALLAHASSEE, FL, May 5, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The effort to protect the academic freedom of the nation's educators received a blow, as a Florida bill protecting the right of teachers to examine the strengths and weaknesses of Darwin's theory of evolution died on Friday with the end of the state legislative session.  However, Michigan, Louisiana, Alabama, and Missouri currently have similar legislation under consideration.

After approving legislation that would require a "critical analysis" of Darwinian evolution in state elementary and secondary biology classes, the Florida House rejected a weakened Senate-approved adaptation that would only allow, but not require, teachers to present criticisms of Darwinism.

Opponents of the academic freedom legislation contend that the laws are thinly veiled attempts to replace scientific analysis with religious doctrine.

"These anti-evolution bills are really the creationism du jour, an end run around the legal decisions that have banned the outright teaching of creationism," said Eugenie C. Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education.

Proponents of Intelligent Design Theory (ID), the leading alternative scientific theory to Darwinism, disagree with Scott's assessment.

"We oppose intelligent design mandates.  The text of both (Florida) bills make very clear that this isn't protecting the right to give religious critiques," said John West of the conservative think-tank the Discovery Institute.

Intelligent Design, routinely confused with creationism, is a scientific theory that infers to the existence of an intelligent cause to account for the empirical evidence of design in certain features of nature and living things.  In contrast, creationism holds that the creation of the earth and all living species occurred during a literal 7-day process as described in the book of Genesis.

Neo-Darwinism, on the other hand, contends that the origin and complexity of life can be explained solely in terms of blind, unguided natural selection acting on random genetic mutation.
 
Despite the failure of Florida's academic freedom bill, four other states continue to consider similar measures.

On Wednesday, a Missouri House committee pass HB 2554, protecting the freedom of state elementary and secondary teachers to "review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of theories of biological and chemical evolution" with their students.

On Tuesday, Rep. John Moolenar introduced the "Evolution Academic Freedom Bill" (HB 6027) into the Michigan House with the intention of "helping prepare the best scientists of the future for our state and for our country" by giving them "the academic freedom to explore and critically examine scientific theories."

Last Monday, the Louisiana "Science Education Act" (SB 733) passed the Senate.  The bill would require elementary and secondary school boards to support teachers helping students to develop "critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories."

The Alabama "Academic Freedom Act" (HB 923), introduced in the House on April 24, protects the right of all teachers in the state "to present scientific information pertaining to the full range of scientific views" without punishment or discrimination.

The need for academic freedom legislation is receiving national attention with the release of the documentary "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", which has exposed the intimidation and persecution many figures of academia have received for offering scientific objections to the neo-Darwinian interpretation of biological evolution.

Biologist Jonathan Wells of Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture observed that in taxpayer funded schools teachers should have the ability to rise above the dogma of the day, in order to explore various theories.

"In educational institutions that receive taxpayer support, it is entirely appropriate for the government to ensure that teachers and students have the right to discuss freely the evidence and scientific arguments for and against evolutionary theory."

Other states are expected to introduce academic freedom legislation in the near future, based on a model supplied by the Discovery Institute.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Darwin's Kool-Aid
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/apr/08040705.html

Learn more about academic freedom:
http://www.academicfreedompetition.com

Learn more about the Intelligent Design-Darwinian evolution debate:
http://www.discovery.org/csc

Learn more about the film Expelled:
http://www.expelledthemovie.com

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