ID not OK in UK 26 Jun 2007 The Register is reporting that the UK government has ruled that intelligent design is not acceptable in science classes. [via Slashdot] Evolution General Science Politics Social evolution
Politics And atheists and agnostics? 4 Jun 2009 Obama has said, in his speech in Cairo: The Holy Koran tells us: “O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.” The Talmud tells us: “The whole of the Torah is for… Read More
Politics Harvey Milk is getting a Presidential Medal of Freedom 11 Aug 2009 This is a Very Good Thing: Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly… Read More
Evolution Rethinking the Cambrian 17 Mar 200818 Sep 2017 Ever since Gould’s Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, the popular view has been that the Cambrian was an “explosion” of living forms, and for some, usually but not always creationists, this has been touted as contrary to “Darwinism” (whateverthehell that is) or even evolutionary theory…. Read More
It’s not just the UK that is not seduced by the hokum of ID or creationism; the Council of Europe has a strong document saying that creationism is dangerous in education: http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?Link=/documents/workingdocs/doc07/edoc11297.htm Although the Christian creationism movement looks strong in the US (and possibly Australia too), I think Americans often don’t understand how little impact it has had in post-Reformation Europe; people just don’t buy it and don’t buy literalist worship of the Bible. The Council of Europe document recognises the dangers inherent in letting Islamic creationism take root too. In the UK, Islamic “faith schools” are a worrying trend in promoting irrationality. We need to be vigilant, but we don’t need to be paranoid!
The British are unique in their irrationality. The same people who can be so sensible about things like evolution can still go gaga over reported ghost sightings.
“In their rationality, all nations are alike. In their irrationality, all nations are unique.” Comment.
“In their rationality, all nations are alike. In their irrationality, all nations are unique.” Comment.
….The same people who can be so sensible about things like evolution can still go gaga over reported ghost sightings. Posted by: Alan Kellogg It’s simple really; we know the difference between science and religion plus we love a mystery.
….The same people who can be so sensible about things like evolution can still go gaga over reported ghost sightings. Posted by: Alan Kellogg It’s simple really; we know the difference between science and religion plus we love a mystery.
I would imagine that in Europe Islamic creationism, as part of a trend towards the isolation and Islamistization of European Muslims must be a prime concern, and that by giving Creationism as a general claim the boot from schools, they tidily get rid of a few local loons, as well as justifying putting a stop to a much more troubling trend. But don’t for a moment forget that there is a small but often vocal English ultraconservative community which isn’t all that different from the sort to be found in the US. They have tacit allies among the more mainstream British conservatives, who now seem on a quest to undermine British public education. The Telegraph’s editorial section usually has one of these types at least once a week.