May 21 2002

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From Dayton, Tennessee (home of the Scopes trial), to Dayton, Ohio (where statewide standards may mandate teaching Intelligent Design), Americans are used to battles over evolution. But in Darwin's homeland, belief in creationism is scandalous. "Fundamentalist Christians who do not believe in evolution have taken control of a state-funded secondary school in England," began a March 9 story in The Guardian. "In a development which will astonish many British parents, creationist teachers at the city technology college in Gateshead are undermining the scientific teaching of biology in favor of persuading pupils of the literal truth of the Bible." The revelation prompted a flurry of subsequent headlines, such as CREATIONISTS "HARM RELIGION" and US CREATIONISTS ON MISSION TO BRITAIN. Liberal Democrats demanded that the school inspector take action, saying, "We must not stand by and see our children become the fodder for the extreme views of religious fundamentalists or their wealthy backers." Even Prime Minister Tony Blair was drawn into the controversy, with opponents demanding to know his beliefs on evolution.

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Darwinian struggle in OhioTeaching students the mysteries of the universe—letting them wrap their minds around unresolved questions — is a good way to get them interested in science. But no theory that answers those questions by invoking the supernatural deserves a place in a public school science curriculum. (Editorial, The New York Times)

Ripples in Ohio from ad on the big bangA full-page advertisement in The New York Times on Sunday by a professor of radiology at Ohio State University about abstract theories of heat, the Sun and the cosmos was described by other ...