‘Academic Freedom’ Fraud: Louisiana Bill Opens Door To Creationism In The Classroom

 

The New York Times reported Monday that the climate in Louisiana is “ripe” to enact the Religious Right agenda.

The Times said Gov. Bobby Jindal is “seen as practically one of the family” at the offices of the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF), a fundamentalist group that is finding new levels of power in a state where the governor and the legislature are sympathetic to infringements on church-state separation.  

The LFF is pushing hard in Baton Rouge for a measure that would undercut instruction about evolution in the state’s public schools. Senate Bill 733 would allow teachers to use “supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials” to teach not only evolution but also other theories on the origins of life.

After being passed by the Senate and the House Education Committee, the bill goes for a vote any day now on the House floor.  

This “academic freedom” bill – and measures like it in other states — are key pieces to the Religious Right agenda, as I have learned during my first week here at Americans United. I recently joined the staff as a communications associate, and my first task is to write a story for Church & State on the recent surge in these measures in state legislatures.

The Louisiana bill, known among its proponents as the “Science Education Act,” was modeled after language drafted by the Discovery Institute, a Seattle, Wash.-based think tank that promotes “intelligent design,” the latest variant of creationism.  

Though the measure claims only scientific theories will be taught, State Senator Ben Nevers, who introduced the bill, supports the Louisiana Family Forum’s belief that “scientific data” related to creationism should be discussed along with evolution.

I don’t know what “scientific data” he is referring to, and it is quite clear that Nevers’ “science” is founded on religious belief. As Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn put it, “This bill isn’t about improving education in Louisiana; it’s about sneaking religion into the science classroom.” 

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on “academic freedom” bills and accompanying the story was a poll asking readers whether they would be upset if public schools taught creationism. Seventy-six percent of respondents answered “no.” 

I first wondered if those who answered this poll really understand the First Amendment, and if they do, if they know that creationism is a religious belief not based on science. Courts have found that anti-evolution arguments “distort and misrepresent scientific knowledge.”  Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M.D. Pa. 2005).

That’s a finding that Louisiana legislators should take to heart. When SB 733 comes to the floor, House members should recall that public schools are supposed to offer science classes, not religious indoctrination. The U.S. Constitution demands it. 

By Sandhya Bathija