Why is Evolution taught in schools?

Question

Now, dont get me wrong I'm an Atheist and all for Evolution in school. But if it hasnt been proven then why do we teach it?

(I want to be taught Evolution I just dont think other people do! (i would hate Religion in schools))

Answer 1

It is taught as a scientific theory. Technically not much in science is 'proven'. Theory's that are well supported are acceptable to be taught. A theory is not considered fact in science until there is nothing that can ever be found to refute it.

The reason that Creationism is not taught (along with other religious views of how the workd began) is because they are religious theories not scientifc. The 'proof' is the Bible. It is not the schools job to teach religious theories. That's what parents, church and parochial schools are for.

Religion does not have a place in public school. If you want your child exposed to a specific set of religious beliefs that is your job. Every major religion I know of has their own schools. Atheists are NOT doing the same thing by trying to keep religion out of school. There are simply too many religions to be taught. By not teaching them you are not precluding it from the childrens lives-again that is the parents job.

Answer 2

The common misconception about evolution is that it hasn't been proven and that the scientific community is not in agreement.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Evolution has been studied to death, and everything points to it: biology, genetics (which wouldn't be a science without the concept of evolution), anthropology, paleontology, geology, radiology(and whatever card science you want to add).

There are NO, and I repeat, NO articles written to peer-reviewed scientific journals that doubt the fact that evolution exists. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. Articles questioning the validity NEVER show up in these journals because they are peer-reviewed, and that means other scientists have a chance to question the material before it goes to print. That doesn't mean that the information can't be controversial. It just means that it holds to the basic tenets of the scientific method. Without the scientific method, it's just not science.

The articles written to fringe or religious organizations (example the Discovery Institute which pushes Intelligent Design as science) can't be held up as being scientific because: a) it lacks consistency in its application, b) violates the principle of parsimony (the explanations must be as simply described as possible, such as Occam's Razor), c) usefule to explain AND predict observable phenomena, empirically testable and falsifiable, d) based on multiple observations, e) correctable and dynamic (based on new evidence), and finally f) progressive (take into account everything explained by previous theories and more.

The so-called 'proofs' that evolution doesn't happen are not accepted in the scientific community simply because they don't follow the scientific method or take into account the ideas described above.

Do we know everything about evolution? Of course not. We are learning more everyday. We used to think evolution only happened at a slow pace, but recent DNA and carbon-dating evidence (2 very different fields of study) both have shown that changes in evolution CAN happen in very short time periods if the environment allows it (usually when there is some stress factor in the environment).

By the way. Hardly anything is ever proven in science. Better to say that the overwhelming preponderance of evidence points to the theory of evolution. It agrees with everything we know at this time, and nothing really refutes it (scientifically... not to say some religious people don't try... unsuccessfully).

Before you believe anything the people who are against evolution tell you, have them show you an article from a peer-reviewed scientific journal that agrees with their idea. They will NEVER find one written in the last 100 years. However, you will be able to find thousands of peer-reviewed articles to the contrary of their ideas.

Answer 3

Evolution is proven about as well as the idea that there were dinosaurs, the idea that there was a Roman Empire, the idea that vampires aren't real, and the idea that the world is round (these last two have actual dessenting opinions...) Hell, maybe we shouldn't teach the haulocaust?... There seems to be some disagreement there, and DNA indicating relation seems to be more reliable than old people's memory...

Evolution is observable in living organisms (bacteria most easily), observable in the ammount of genetic differences in organisms (a science both used for humans alone, and for determining when speciation occurs). and provides large fossile records of gradual change....

The idea of evolution has also led to scientific advances, mostly in the fields of anthropology and sociology. Not teaching it would be on par to not teaching some other core principle of a field, like our current theoretical model of the atom.

Answer 4

Nothing is ever absolutely proven in science. Ignorant religions claim to have absolutes. Evolution is well-supported by many years of scientific research. There is no viable alternative to it. We cannot have modern biology without it, so it must be taught. People are not taught only what they want to study. Chaos would result if that were the case.

Answer 5

It's a s proven as any other field of scientific study. It's an observable history of biology. Technically nothing is ever "PROVEN". Science makes an observation and then attempts to disprove it in a variety of situations until there is no reasonable doubt left.

Seriously, I'm a Christian, but there's no reason that Evolution cannot coincide with the Biblical idea of Creation as well. Just extend the time table from the "6 days" which was a simplification for a group of uneducated people that couldn't yet comprehend millions of years.

Answer 6

Evolution has been proven, thus it is a scientific fact. Which makes it a part of the body of science, which is taught in public schools. That's why.

Answer 7

To the extent that any theory has been proven, evolution certainly has. The mountain of genetic, cladistic, and paleontological findings pointing to a common evolutionary history for related beings is so strong, that there can be little disputing the common origin of living things.

I am a Christian. And even I know evolution is fact. It should be taught as fact, since it is one.

Answer 8

I am a Catholic, but I see why we teach evolution in schools. It is only still the theory of evolution (otherwise it would be called something else). It goes against several different belief systems, so we should offer evolution as an elective. That is, you should be able to choose whether to take a class that teaches from an evolutionary point of view or a religious point of view.

Atheists tell us all the time that we are one sided, and yada yada yada, but when they say that religion has no place in schools, then that is just doing the same thing that you accuse us of doing. I feel that everyone has a right to their opinions, and parents should have a right to have their children be taught something within the context of their belief system.

Answer 9

Why is evolution taught in schools? because it's on the biology syllabus. who put it there? the administrators of examining bodies. why did they put it there? i have no clue.
I do biology, and i have read several biology text books which include sections that present information not only on the theory of evolution, but on the theory of creation and other theories as well.............but evolution is the most widely accepted and most commonly taught theory. many other theories are taught in schools, that have not absolutely been proven..............for example, the theory of continental drift is taught in geography. i think the whole idea of teaching these theories is to expose and educate students about the possibilities out there. of course, evidence is given to support it, but at present, it is still being taught under the important label of "theory".

~PhoeniX~

Answer 10

For the same reason photosynthesis is taught in schools. It is basic science. The existence of atoms hasn't been "proven" either. That's why it is called "atomic THEORY". In fact, nothing in science has been proven, in the sense that scientific conclusions are always open to change in light of new evidence. In the meantime we teach those theories that are best supported by scientific evidence, and evolutionary theory and atomic theory are two of the most thoroughly supported theories in all of science.