Europe debates creationism - September 26, 2007
Europe’s human rights body is considering declaring the teaching of creationism as science a potential threat to human rights (Reuters). The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, responsible for the European Convention on Human Rights, will next week vote on a resolution entitled The dangers of creationism in education. This calls on member states to “oppose firmly any attempts at teaching creationism as a scientific discipline”.
“The aim of this report is not to question or to fight a belief. It is not a matter of opposing belief and science, but it is necessary to prevent belief from opposing science,” assembly member Anne Brasseur told Reuters.
The resolution, which if accepted would not be binding on council members, states
If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe. ... The war on the theory of evolution and on its proponents most often originates in forms of religious extremism which are closely allied to extreme right-wing political movements. The creationist movements possess real political power. The fact of the matter, and this has been exposed on several occasions, is that some advocates of strict creationism are out to replace democracy by theocracy.
Although creationism and intelligent design are not as prevalent in Europe as they are in the United States there have been controversial cases (eg The Guardian). A previous version of the report drew some criticism from ID proponents but the usual suspects on both sides seem strangely silent this time. Tune in next week for the fireworks...
Comments
This is perhaps the most important and useful resolution ever.
Let us all hope it will be accepted!
Posted by: Guy Batten | September 27, 2007 02:54 PM
Where do the press or 'journals' dig this rubbish up from? This is not newsworthy. What you call something whether it is philosophy or creationism does not affect its content. Science just is...period as they say across the water.
Posted by: vicky, London | September 27, 2007 03:42 PM
Let us hope not. Any idea that some people feel the need to 'firmly oppose' should be worth exploring!Lol at the irony of a human rights body getting involved in this debate.
Posted by: T Molland | September 28, 2007 11:16 PM