UC Berkeley sued over evolution site

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        UC Berkeley sued over evolution site
Date:   Sat, 26 Nov 2005 08:21:44 -0800
From:   Liz Ditz <ponytrax () batnet com>
To:     David Farber <dave () farber net>



For IP if you wish.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13262018.htm

Evolution site under fire

COUPLE'S LAWSUIT SAYS UC-BERKELEY WEB SITE FOR TEACHERS INVOLVES  
RELIGION

By Becky Bartindale and Lisa Krieger

Operators of a University of California-Berkeley Web site that is  
designed to help teachers teach evolution are being sued by a  
California couple who say the site improperly strays into religion.

[snip]

Website url http://evolution. berkeley.edu

[snip]

Suit specifics

The suit, which was filed last month, specifically objects to portions  
of the Understanding Evolution Web site that deal with the interplay of  
science and religion. For example, it challenges the site's linking to  
doctrinal statements from a variety of religions to demonstrate that  
``most Christian and Jewish religious groups have no conflict with  
evolution.''

That amounts to a government endorsement of certain religious groups  
over others, the suit contends, and is an effort ``to modify the  
beliefs of public school science students so they will be more willing  
to accept evolutionary theory as true.''

[snip]

Press release from Pacific Justice Institute

http://www.pacificjustice.org/resources/news/focusdetails.cfm? 
ID=PR051012a

PJI Sues UC Berkeley for Using Federal Funding to Distort Religious  
Beliefs
City: San Francisco, CA
A parent, Jeanne Caldwell, is filing a federal lawsuit today against  
officials of the University of California at Berkeley and the National  
Science Foundation over religious statements on the “Understanding  
Evolution” website (http://evolution.berkeley.edu), which was created  
with more than $500,000 in federal funding.

According to the lawsuit, the website, which describes itself as the  
“ultimate evolution resource for K-12 teachers,” includes “classroom 
strategies” and exercises for public school teachers to use in science  
class to change the religious convictions of students. A web page  
called “Misconceptions” makes the theological claim that “most  
Christian and Jewish religious groups have no conflict with the theory  
of evolution.” This statement is illustrated by a cartoon depicting a  
scientist shaking hands with a pastor holding a Bible with a cross on  
it.

The lawsuit alleges that the state and federal governments are  
promoting religious beliefs to minor school children in violation of  
the First Amendment. The suit seeks injunctive relief to remove these  
government-endorsed religious beliefs. The website exclusively directs  
instructors to statements by seventeen denominations and groups that  
adhere to the doctrine that there is no conflict between their  
religious beliefs and evolution. A core claim of many evolutionists is  
that the origin of all life forms through evolution, including humans,  
was “unplanned” and “undirected.” This claim clearly contradicts the  
teaching of all of the world’s major religions, including Christianity,  
Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, that life on earth was created  
by design.

The lawsuit alleges that officials are using government funding and  
resources to actively promote the religious beliefs held by a private  
organization, the National Center for Science Education, which has a  
“long history of religious advocacy” on the evolution issue. Attorney  
Larry Caldwell, President of Quality Science Education for All, who is  
co-counsel with PJI in the suit, stated, “In this government-funded  
website, the same people who so loudly proclaim that they oppose  
discussion of religion in biology are advocating ‘teaching strategies’ 
in science classrooms to convert students to government endorsed  
religious beliefs.”

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, stated, “It seems  
Berkeley is on a crusade to spin religious beliefs for its own  
pro-evolution agenda.”

[snip]

**********
Liz Ditz
ponytrax () batnet com

blog: http://lizditz.typepad.com

Success: fall down seven times, stand up eight. 



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