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In defense of the teaching of evolution |
| Witherspoon joins in court case:
No need to disclaim evolution, says brief filed in Cobb County, GA
[6-13-05]
The Witherspoon Society has joined an amicus brief filed in support of a
recent U.S. District Court decision, Selman v. Cobb County School District,
which ruled that the evolution "warning labels" required in Cobb County,
Georgia, public school textbooks were unconstitutional. The "friend of the
court brief" was filed in the eleventh circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals,
in response to an appeal seeking to overturn the Selman decision.
For
details of the Selman case >>
As Presbyterians committed to a reasoned understanding of
Scripture and to defending quality education, we believe it is important for
our group to take a stand. Our position in this lawsuit is consistent with
many statements of the General Assembly concerning public education and the
relation of church and state. These can be found in the Presbyterian
Social Witness Policy Compilation, pp. 346-49.
Other groups to sign the brief include Georgia Citizens
for Integrity in Science, Alabama Citizens for Science Education, Texas
Citizens for Science, Colorado Citizens for Science, Kansas Citizens for
Science, Nebraska Religious Coalition for Science Education, New Mexicans
for Science and Reason, Michigan Citizens for Science, The Coalition for
Excellence in Science and Math Education, Ohio Citizens for Science, and
Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.
In 2002, responding to local creationist protests about
the inclusion of evolution in textbooks, the Cobb County School Board
mandated that every single biology textbook in the district carry a label
describing evolution as "a theory, not a fact." Represented by attorney
Michael Manely and the Georgia ACLU, Jeffrey Selman and four other Cobb
parents filed suit in federal court. The trial was held in the fall of 2004
in U.S. District Court, with Judge Clarence Cooper presiding.
In a carefully reasoned decision issued in January 2005,
Judge Cooper ruled that the evolution disclaimer was unconstitutional
because it "convey[s] a message of endorsement of religion," and ordered the
stickers to be removed. But the school district decided to appeal the
decision, prompting a number of groups – scientific, religious, and others –
to join in.
The amicus brief submitted by Witherspoon was not alone.
Amicus briefs supporting the Selman decision were also submitted by the
National Science Teachers Association and the National Association of
Biology Teachers; Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the
Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee; the National
Council of Jewish Women and The Interfaith Alliance; the Clergy and Laity
Network; the American Jewish Congress; a coalition of grassroots pro-science
organizations, including Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science
Education; and a coalition of fifty-six scientific organizations, including
the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
In light of the continuing assaults on evolution education
across the country, we believe that support for evolution education is
especially important now.
Contact: the Rev. Trina Zelle, phone (602) 743-6976, e-mail
zellerev@earthlink.net, or Dr. Eugene TeSelle,
phone (615) 297-2629, e-mail
teselle@bellsouth.net
For more information, go to
http://ncseweb2.org/pubinfo/selman/, where you will find the texts
of the amicus briefs, background on the Selman case, and other useful links.
Information for this report is provided in part by Eugenie
C. Scott, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Center for Science Education,
Inc., 420 40th Street, Ste. 2, Oakland, CA 94609-2509. Phone 510-601-7203 x
301 Fax: 510-601-7204, 800-290-6006
E-mail:
scott@ncseweb.org
On the web:
http://www.ncseweb.org |
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Americans United supports upholding ban on evolution
disclaimers in Georgia
Cobb County textbook stickers critical of evolution are
designed to advance religion, watchdog group says
[6-13-05]
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked a federal
appeals court to reject a religiously motivated move to undercut the
teaching of evolution in Cobb County, Ga., public schools.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the Cobb County School District v.
Selman case today, Americans United advised the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals that the disclaimers pasted into science textbooks were included at
the behest of fundamentalists who oppose evolution and want the public
school curriculum to reflect their religious views.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said the Cobb
County school board should not be permitted to sacrifice appropriate science
education to placate a vocal fundamentalist faction.
"The appeals court should tell the Cobb County School Board to quit playing
with stickers and get back to providing sound science education that meets
the needs of our children and the demands of the Constitution," Lynn said.
"Religious pressure groups must not be allowed to take control of the public
schools."
A federal district order ordered the Cobb County anti-evolution stickers
removed, and now the appeals court is weighing the issue.
Joining Americans United on the brief are the American Jewish Committee and
the Anti-Defamation League.
The brief notes that placement of the stickers came after community pressure
from religious activists who oppose the teaching of evolution in public
schools. The action was the latest in a long string of anti-evolution moves
by education officials in Cobb County.
Observes the brief, "The Cobb County School Board has evinced a
long-standing anti-evolution, pro-creationism bias. Since at least 1979
(until 2002), teaching about the 'origin of human species' was permitted
only in elective high-school classes and was excluded entirely from the
elementary-school and middle-school curricula."
The sticker reads, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution
is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This
material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and
critically considered."
The AU brief rejects claims that the school board had a secular reason for
using the sticker.
"The School Board acted not to promote critical thinking in general, but to
cause 'students to consider critically information regarding evolution to
try to determine its validity,'" Americans United asserts. "The School Board
thus singled out evolution for negative treatment, as no disclaimer relating
to any other theory, topic, or subject is placed on any Cobb County school
textbook."
The AU brief was drafted by Alex J. Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel
for Americans United, and Meir Feder of the national law firm Jones Day,
legal counsel for the American Jewish Committee.
A wide array of other science, education, religious and civil liberties
groups also filed briefs asking the appeals court to rule against the
anti-evolution stickers.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group
based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates
Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding
religious freedom.
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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