RE: Do you believe references to "God" in school should be taken out?
June 15, 2012 at 5:20 pm
(This post was last modified: June 15, 2012 at 5:24 pm by Colanth.)
There's a difference between references to God and proselytizing. Should references to theft be eliminated in civics classes? "God" exists - it's the name of an entity that many people believe in, much like "Goldilocks". There's no reason to walk on eggshells to make sure that no one utters "God" under his breath anywhere within the boundaries of a class in which science is being taught.
But to teach that viruses have thoughts, or that life was created by some entity? Maybe as the belief of some, taught in a class on comparative religion, but not as a scientific theory in a science class. It's not scientific and it's not a theory.
@Tobie:
History? (The concept is responsible for a lot of it.) Physics? (The Higgs Boson will be called the God particle as long as English is spoken.) I think there are many classes in which the three-letter word "God" is permissible. I don't think there's any class in which proselytizing, or even assuming that everyone in the class agrees about religion (I often say that there are as many Christian sects as there are Christians), has any place unless the school is an arm of some religious organization.
But to teach that viruses have thoughts, or that life was created by some entity? Maybe as the belief of some, taught in a class on comparative religion, but not as a scientific theory in a science class. It's not scientific and it's not a theory.
@Tobie:
History? (The concept is responsible for a lot of it.) Physics? (The Higgs Boson will be called the God particle as long as English is spoken.) I think there are many classes in which the three-letter word "God" is permissible. I don't think there's any class in which proselytizing, or even assuming that everyone in the class agrees about religion (I often say that there are as many Christian sects as there are Christians), has any place unless the school is an arm of some religious organization.