Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Kansas Scraps Science In Favor of Religion

Kansas beat Indiana to the punch in replacing science with religion as the curriculum for public schools in explaining the origins of human species. The Kansas Board of Education, in a divided vote, approved new standards incorporating the teaching of “intelligent design” and casting doubts on the long-accepted scientific theory of evolution.

The Associated Press reported that the 6-4 vote for “intelligent design” risked “nation-wide ridicule” for the entire state. "This is a sad day. We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that," said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat. One critic likened it to teaching American history without Lincoln. All six of the members voting for the new standards were Republicans, while two other Republicans joined one Democrat in voting against the new standards.

The board actually rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations or phenomena according to the AP report. This marks the third time in the last six years the standards have been changed. Earlier ID standards were dumped after the state’s voters replaced several pro-ID board members. But advocates for the Christian right managed to change the make-up of the board in the last election to secure a majority vote for ID standards today.

So it looks like House Speaker Brian Bosma and his GOP colleagues in the Indiana House will have to settle for second place in the race to the bottom.      

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