Darwinian -
The thing is, regardless of what the emphasis is on, "officially", students would take away from it different things, depending on what they consider the most important aspect. For example, one student may see it merely as an exercise in debating skills, while another may see it as a religious discussion. They may even change their mind about what they think of the subject (ie become a theist, or become an atheist). So in practise, essentially, it would be a religious discussion to whoever considers it as such. In that sense, it wouldn't matter whether or not it's part of a wider exercise in debating skills, as it would still have the potential to change people's minds about the topic itself.
The thing is, regardless of what the emphasis is on, "officially", students would take away from it different things, depending on what they consider the most important aspect. For example, one student may see it merely as an exercise in debating skills, while another may see it as a religious discussion. They may even change their mind about what they think of the subject (ie become a theist, or become an atheist). So in practise, essentially, it would be a religious discussion to whoever considers it as such. In that sense, it wouldn't matter whether or not it's part of a wider exercise in debating skills, as it would still have the potential to change people's minds about the topic itself.
