MARGINALIA
Being Stalked by Intelligent Design
Scientists must stop ignoring "Intelligent Design"—religious prejudice disguised as intellectual freedom
Pat Shipman
I ignored the threat for a long time. I groaned at the letters to the
editor in our local paper that dismissed evolution as "just a
theory" and proclaimed the superiority of "Intelligent
Design" (ID) to explain the world around us. When a particular
emeritus professor pestered me with e-mails asking how I explained
this or that aspect of the fossil record (How could a flying bird
evolve from a non-flying species? Did I think feathered dinosaurs
were real?), I answered him time and again—until I realized
that he was reading neither my answers nor the references I
suggested. When this same man stood up, yet again, after a lecture
to read a "question" that was actually a prepared
statement about ID, I rolled my eyes.
But on October 18, 2004, the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania,
changed its official curriculum, mandating that: "Students will
be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin's theory and of other
theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent
design. Note: Origins of life will not be taught." The new
policy required teachers to read to their biology classes a
four-paragraph disclaimer questioning the validity of evolution and
suggesting that students consult ID literature. Seven biology
teachers in Dover refused to comply and risked their jobs by writing
a powerful letter to the superintendent of schools, Richard
Nilsen. The letter read, in part: "'INTELLIGENT DESIGN' IS NOT
SCIENCE. 'INTELLIGENT DESIGN' IS NOT BIOLOGY. 'INTELLIGENT DESIGN'
IS NOT AN ACCEPTED SCIENTIFIC THEORY." (Emphasis in original.)
Dover is a small town not far from my home. I became
alarmed—ID was in my neighborhood, and it was harming the
teaching of science by confusing it with religion. I and many other
colleagues signed a petition in support of the embattled teachers.
Since the actions of the school board last fall, 11 parents,
represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, have filed a lawsuit to
stop the reading of the disclaimer and the teaching of ID in science classes.
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