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Oct 7, 2002 In the National Geographic Channel I saw a program about some high schools in the USA. Groups of kids, in the age of 13 to 18 years, want to add a subject to the class of science. They believe that humans are too perfectly designed that just the science of evolution can explain how we evolved. The science of religion should be added to their science classes so that they can decide for them selves which one is correct. The science of religion actually exists. The people that created it, created it to get religious classes back into the schools. Carefully selected scientific evidence is used to proof that humans were created by something else than evolution. Any other evidence is ignored. Separation between the state and the church is one of the great things of democracy. Religion on it self is not a bad thing, but when you use religion as a base of government, you ignore other religions that have different ideas. So for this simple reason alone, state and religion have to be separated. Since the state is responsible for education, and everybody has the right to education, it can not allow classes that have no scientific bases. The science of religion seems to be a science, but specific evidence only is used to proof something. Science is science because all factors are taken in account, and not just the factors that are handy. So, the science of religion can not be called science, at least not by the government, simply because there is no real scientific basis. The kids in the schools want the following: Add the science of religion to the science classes. Do not make it a new class, with free participation. Add it, and let the students decide what is true. This, to me, is kind of funny. Students, not even adults, will decide if something is true? I do not understand why the school has such a problem with it. The following simple logic explains why it is not possible to add the science of religion: In math, do students decide which formulas are true and which are not? In languages, do students decide how a language is written? In history, do students decided what happened in the past? Etc. The answer is the same every time: No! So adding a subject to science classes that challenges another subject, and therefore forces a choice, is not an option. The state can never force anybody to learn something that is based on opinions. (religion is a form of opinion) Students do not decide anything. They learn, and that’s it! They can be part of decisions about the other services that the school offers, (buildings, restaurant, etc), but not about the education it self. That is the responsibility of the state, and the state is not allowed to force opinions onto students. Parents can choose for their kids to have extra classes. Kids can choose extra classes, with permission of their parents. But classes that are subject to opinion should always be voluntarily taken. ------------ Peter Faber is Dutch and has recently moved to Brazil. Visit Peter's website. Email Peter: getting_there@uol.com.br Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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