2006-10-01 15:56:07 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No, religious beliefs have nothing to do with science.
2006-10-01 15:58:20 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Not everyone has the same religious beliefs, so you run the risk of offending some. The only reason evolution is studied, is because it is science and not religion. No one should think that their belief system is better than the others and should be taught above all the others.
2006-10-01 22:59:43 · answer #2 · answered by leafrogger 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Religious beliefs should be taught in a world religions class and explored in a philosophy class. That way students can walk into BOTH their science classes and their government classes and present their points objectively and learn from others.
2006-10-01 23:08:46 · answer #3 · answered by ccrider 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why would religion be taught in a science class; it's not science, it's religion! Intelligent design is religion, therefore it cannot be taught in school (per a US judge in Dover, PA). Which religion would you teach? I knew someone that was all fanatical about teaching religion in school, as long as it was hers. I think if the churches want religion taught in the schools, there should be a requirement to teach science in the churches.
2006-10-01 23:00:10 · answer #4 · answered by The Doctor 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, because the possible topics and different opinions in religion are too broad to be able to fairly reprsent all viewpoints, especially in the limited time available in a high school science class.
Religion also likely isn't science, based on the aforementioned facts.
Science can be proved true or not true in most cases. Religion can not.
2006-10-01 23:01:12 · answer #5 · answered by Tyler R 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes but it should be all the major religions and any religion of a student that might be in class to help promote getting along. They should be taught as sociology or history and not for the purpose of conversion.
2006-10-01 23:03:29 · answer #6 · answered by B S 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My science teacher told us that there is a whole body of religious belief running contrary to the textbook. Also, world religions class should be taught. Especially to the "Jim Darwin family and friends" as you like to call them.
2006-10-01 22:59:45 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yes, but not in a way to preach any specific religion. All major religions should be taught as a social science to educate students on their particular doctrines and history. Knowledge should not be suppressed.
2006-10-01 23:05:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. How would you ever decide which religious beliefs to teach? Sorry, this isn't just a christian country, and it is founded on the principle of separation of church and state. If you want religion in school, send your kids to a religious school.
2006-10-01 22:59:47 · answer #9 · answered by Alex62 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Science is differentiated from philosophy by experiment. Philosophy seeks 'logical' proof. Scientists create hypotheses, then devise experiments to test them. Scientists know that their results are approximations, that their 'laws' are not immutable... not absolute. They do NOT (as creationists would have us believe) view their theories as absolute 'truth', in the same sense as creationists regard the Genesis story of creation as 'truth'.
What differentiates religion from both philosophy and science is that neither proof nor experimental confirmation is required. Religion can be summed up very succinctly: Where an obvious answer cannot be found in nature, make up an explanation based on the supernatural and accept it as a matter of 'faith'... faith in a 'truth' written in scripture as (claimed to have been) 'revealed' to someone by a transcendental, supernatural being.
Intelligent Design is NOT a scientific theory. It is a 'red herring'... a 'Trojan Horse'. It is a carefully orchestrated subterfuge intended to create the PERCEPTION that there is a scientific controversy where no such controversy actually exists. It is religion/creationism in disguise, tarted up to look like 'science'. Here is the difference:
* At the bleeding edge of science, at the point where it REALLY starts to get interesting, science says: "We don't know... OK, boys... let's roll up our sleeves, dig in and find out."
* At the bleeding edge of science, at the point where it REALLY starts to get interesting, Intelligent Design (imagine South Park - Officer Barbrady) says: "That's too complicated. God did it. Move along. Nothing to see here. Everybody go home now."
It would be easy to attribute Intelligent Design to intellectual laziness... but sadly, that is not the case. It is a conspiracy. The objective is to sabotage science... to reintroduce religion to the public schools via subversion and subterfuge. The saddest thing about it is that a large percentage of Americans ARE intellectually lazy, and generally ignorant of the concept and processes of critical thought. They (enthusiastically) fall for this nonsense.
The objectives of the creationists who are promoting ID are spelled out in the Discovery Institute's so-called 'Wedge Strategy' ( http://www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html ), which is a political strategy. The main plan is to "teach the controversy"... that being the claim that many scientists reject evolution... except that it is a lie... there IS NO controversy within the scientific community. The ultimate aim is the subversion of science itself, changing the definition of science to include supernatural explanations, rather than it being restricted to natural explanations (methodological naturalism).
The Wedge Strategy's overall objective is this (quoted directly from the Wedge Strategy): "Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of (scientific) materialism and its cultural legacies."
You should check out the judge's opinion in the Dover School Board trial... that explains the issue quite nicely. http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site515/2005/1220/20051220_085143_kitzdecision.pdf
If people want to introduce 'Intelligent Design' into the curriculum of our public schools, that is OK... in a elective 'Comparative Religion' class. But NOT in a science class; that would be a travesty.
2006-10-01 23:01:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋