You would think intelligent design/creationism controversies would be limited to Bible Belt states like Kansas or Alabama.

But Oregon?

At Jefferson High School near Salem, Oregon, the science curriculum is pretty standard — they tend to teach real science.

Several months ago, however, a local pastor attended a school board meeting and challenged what was being taught in Geology classes. He didn’t like the scientific notion of an Earth that is billions of years old. He proposed that the school invite a speaker to present “the other view” — that is, the made-up, -endorsed theory that the Earth is only thousands of years old despite all the evidence to the contrary.

One Jefferson science teacher attending the meeting, Karen Sinex, said “No” to the religious beliefs being taught in her classroom. Why teach someone’s personal mythology in the classroom and waste the students’ time, right?

On August 11^th, the pastor returned to the school board. He further challenged materials being used in the classroom and once again proposed to have an Intelligent Design proponent speak in the classroom.

…..and that’s when the proverbial shit hit the fan!

What was the response this time?

Here’s an excerpt from an email from the Columbia (Oregon) Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State:

Rather than clearly support state law at the board meeting, the superintendent and two of the five board members announced that they believed in intelligent design! The superintendent even went on to say to Ms. Sinex “Who knows, you may end up having to teach it in your class.”

Bruce Adams, the president of the chapter, continues:

When we heard about this, we called the Superintendent and the school board chair. We left [messages] for each of them but neither of them returned our call. Not long after that, we received an email from Ms. Sinex, saying:

Bruce, As you predicted, my superintendent approached me the other day. He said he had received a phone call from you, and asked your affiliation… He said that he intends to sit down with me… to discuss what they will be recommending in this case.

 

I don’t know what they’ll “recommend.” I want to believe they’ll stand up for their own state’s (pro-evolution) science standards.

But if this situation can happen in Oregon, it can happen just about anywhere.

Members of the AU chapter will accompany Sinex to the next school board meeting to show their support.

While it seems for now that rational people constitute the majority of the school board, it’s only a one-member swing that way. That could quickly change.

If you don’t want it to happen in your neck of the woods, the most important thing you can do is to keep abreast of what’s going on in your own community and make sure no one sneaks their personal (erroneous) beliefs into public classrooms. If they try, alert groups like Americans United, Freedom From Religion Foundation, or the ACLU.

The teacher, Karen Sinex, is going to be speaking about the situation and answering questions at the next meeting of the AU chapter.

It appears that there are controversies everywhere with no apparent end in sight. The debate should be less about the merits of creationism, intelligent design or any other belief systems as it should be about the debate being inappropriate in this venue.

CHURCH and STATE should be distinct and separate which should minimize the birth of these arguments to begin with.

The Lang Report thanks our friends at Friendly Atheist for the content of the article

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE:

Palin, creationism and the Scopes trial - If you have a moment, take a look at Oliver Kamm's series of posts on Palin and creationism. He picks up on the fact that the new VP choice is keen on teaching biblical creationism in schools. Which takes us back down memory lane ...

Palin on Creationism. - About nine days ago, shortly after Sarah Palin was announced as the VP candidate, I mentioned in passing what I termed Palin’s “ridiculous and embarrassing approach to creationism.” At the...

Palin: Creationist sympathizer only? - When asked during a televised debate in 2006 about evolution and creationism, Palin said, according to the Anchorage Daily News: "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable ...

Palin, creationism and other red meat - Besides her compelling "hockey mom" narrative, Palin energizes the Republican base with her conservative issue stands. She favors oil drilling both off the Alaska coast and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ...