Teacher violated Establishment Clause by describing creationism as "superstitious nonsense"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Paul Levy" <plevy () citizen org>
Date: May 6, 2009 2:50:18 PM EDT
To: <dave () farber net>
Subject: Teacher violated Establishment Clause by describing  
creationism as "superstitious nonsense"

A federal judge in LA has ruled that a high school teacher violated the
Establishment Clause by saying during his AP course in European History
at Capistrano Valley High School, that a fellow teacher's advocacy of
creationism (or, more specifically, his lawsuit against the teaching of
evolution) was "superstitious nonsense."

The judge let the teacher off the hook for saying, "What was it that
Mark Twain said? ‘Religion was invented when the first con man met the
first fool.’”  But only because it was not clear that the teacher
was endorsing Twain's view.  Other statements on which the teacher was
"acquitted" included the teachers view that religious groups should not
be exempt from paying taxes and his espusal of the separation of church
and state.  The student had apparently made recordings of the teacher's
lectures before suing over them.


The decision appears here

http://www.ocregister.com/newsimages/2009/05/01/Student%20lawsuit%20-%20final%20ruling.pdf

Paul Alan Levy
Public Citizen Litigation Group
1600 - 20th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009
(202) 588-1000
http://www.citizen.org/litigation




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