Schools warned against creationism, according to the Independent (UK) 11 October 2013. The National Secular Society (NSS) in the UK have issued a report named Evangelism in State Schools, which calls on the government to introduce stricter guidelines to prevent evangelical Christian groups from “proselytising” during Religious Education (RE) lessons. The report is particularly concerned that visiting Christian RE teachers might “push creationism and their own brand of sex education”. According to the report: “The low priority given to RE and collective worship in many schools, combined with the short supply of qualified RE teachers and general pressure to provide sufficient teaching hours provides an ideal environment for evangelical groups to exploit”.
The NSS goes on to state: “The Secretary of State for Education has made it very clear that the teaching of creationist views as a potentially valid alternative to scientific theory should have no place in a 21st-century, publicly funded school. External visitors to schools will be regarded as figures of authority, particularly by younger pupils. When fundamentalist Christians express their sincerely and passionately held belief in the creation story, few children are likely to differentiate between what is being presented as a ‘belief’ and what is being taught as ‘valid scientific theory’”.
A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: “We have not seen any evidence to support these claims and have not received any complaints about this. State schools cannot teach creationism as scientific fact”.
Editorial Comment: Notice what the secularists are most afraid of – creation and sex education based on Biblical guidelines. Over the years “creationism” has been used as a scare-word to intimidate education authorities and politicians to pass laws forbidding the teaching of evidence for creation and Noah’s Flood, and enforcing the teaching of evolution as proven scientific fact.
The secularists warning about “proselytising” is pure hypocrisy. By banning creation, and proclaiming evolution as the only ‘valid scientific theory’ about origins, they are forcing their world view on everyone else, i.e. proselytising.
The excuse that state schools are “publicly funded” is also invalid because states have no money except what they confiscate off the people, and Christians make up a significant number of the public who provide the funds. If atheists were the only people who paid taxes they might have cause to complain.
Atheists and humanists claim to believe in freedom of speech and belief, but they only want to allow those of their own beliefs to be able to live, work and educate their children according to their world view. It is about time churches, Christian organisations, education authorities and politicians called their bluff. (Ref. education, philosophy, politics, world-view)
Evidence News, 16 October 2013