On creationism: If schools should "Teach the Controversy," shouldn't churches also "Preach the Controversy"?

Question

Fair's fair, you know. So why not ask your priest, rabbi, minister, imam, guru to spend at least one sermon on each of the following?:
- the Buddha's Eightfold Path
- the Hindu Vedas
- the Zoroastrian Avesta
- the Q'uran (plus one for the Hadith)
- the Five Classics of Confucius, and finally,
- some of the various oral traditions of the Aztecs, Incans, and Mayans.

(Hat tip to a commenter at Pharyngula:

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/11/the_morning_after_judgment_day.php#more )

Answer 1

Hey hey hey, don't leave out Quetzalcoatl!

Answer 2

"Teach the Controversy"
What an insane idea.
Fundies suggest that Evolution and ID/Creationism are equally valid from a Scientific POV but that evolution is full of holes.

Thanks for the pointer to Pharyngula - I'd forgotten about the good stuff PZ writes.

* "Intelligent Design is not science, and Intelligent Design is a religious idea. That's the message, and that's the decision of a major court case, and that's what the scientists have been saying for years."

Kenneth Miller ** has an excellent, and at times quite amusing from an anti-fundie POV, video on YouTube explaining the court case where he was called as a witness on the Dover case a some years ago.
He explains evolution beautifully and blows the myths the fundies push, concerning evolution, outa the water ... considering he's an admitted Christian.
Ken also showed many examples where fundies LIED to further their narrow-minded agenda.
.

Answer 3

First, there is no controversy. Evolution is a scientific theory backed by reasearch in every one of the biological sciences. Creationism is a fairy tale story made up by people too afraid of their own mortality to say, "I don't know". Second, which creation mythology do these religious cults want taught? Do they want the Norse creation mythology, the Greek creation mythology, the Egyptian creation mythology, or maybe the Flying Spaghetti Monster creation mythology? It's not an either or situation, there are hundreds of creation myths, while there is one scientific theory of evolution.

For the idiots on here that claim evolution is 'just a theory', they are only showing they haven't a clue what a scientific theory entails. Gravity is also 'just a (scientific) theory', so if you want to see the validity of a scientific theory, go find a tall building and jump off it.

Answer 4

Not sure that teaching about another religion is equivalent to teaching examples of bad/inadequate learning as science. I'd require several semons to be given on objective thinking, the current scientific method to include what is considered evidence, peer review, etc, and of course the evidence for evolution. Then they should be required to justify, from a scientific viewpoint, creationist claims.

Edit:
While I understand "equal time" and in some cases I'm sympathetic to it, the point is Creation is a belief and not science. Creationism is not science at all and the numerous claims I've reviewed should embrass anyone with half an education. If Creation is to be taught in public schools then it needs to be taught with other representavie creation stories as part of a religious survey, but not as science.

Answer 5

Blessedly, I go to a church where that kind of thing can actually happen, and has to some extent. And my children are in a religious education class that DOES teach them the tenets of various faiths - and allows for the possibility that you are meant to follow some other path. I am happy as can be there - mostly because for the first part of my life I was told that any belief other than Christianity was not only wrong, it was evil. I am incredibly blessed that my children do not have to grow up feeling afraid to ask questions, read books, and discover other beliefs - even different from mine!

Answer 6

Many of them do. I have heard and given sermons on some of them and plan to hit all of them at some time in the future. The sermons are an examination to see if they are truly from "god." A truth seeker will examine everything they can and hold on to what they believe is true (and will do that all their life). Do you try to ignore or hide that there are other beliefs, or do you admit they are there and truly examine them?

The public schools are trying to hide that there are other beliefs. Look, most Christians I know don't want biblical creationism taught in science classes. What we want is for molecules-to-man evolution to be taught with all its warts (they are not even allowed to present evidence that would put evolution in a poor light). And we want intelligent design to at least to be presented. Unlike leprechauns and unicorns, etc., a significant percentage of the tax-paying population believes in Intelligent Design.

And so many people these days are confusing biblical creationism with intelligent design. "Intelligent Design is the study of patterns in nature that are best explained as the result of intelligence" (Dr. William Dembski). That's it; it says nothing of who the creator is and how he/she/it/they did it. Intelligent Design encompasses every "creation" story, even aliens seeding life on this planet.

Answer 7

The church is for people who already believe. School is a requirement, that's why they should teach the controversy. Personally I like learning about other beliefs and religions.

Answer 8

So true, if you have to teach ONE line of faith in schools, you have to do ALL of them. Or as you said. You forgot about preaching evolution in churches, if they want us to teach Creationism in class, they should learn about evolution in church. Fair's fair, as you say. ^_^

Answer 9

School is different than church. School are insitutions set up by the governement to EDUCATE. Church is the congregation of BELIEVERS of that particular religion. Church is private and your children ARE NOT required to attend.

Answer 10

WHERE is all this controversy...except here? The schools have been teaching evolution for years and year and years... The major religions have excepted evolution for years and years and years...The ones that don't accept it never will! I am so tired of hearing about it....OH, and I do believe in evolution.

Answer 11

I don't know about churches but christian schools certainly do what you ask, at least the Catholic ones.