Thursday, January 5, 2012

Separation of State and Darwinism?

So I have one of these on my car:















Today someone left a note on my windshield in response to it. It is as follows:

"I'm a secular humanist too, but please understand that we took morality out of schools because it smacked too much of religion. Now all we have is DARWINISM, which is survival of the fittest on the playground. Hence, all the bullying."

I couldn't stop laughing to myself after I read this. First of all, way to assume I'm a Secular Humanist. Because I believe in evolution, I simply MUST be a Secular Humanist? And although I am an atheist, I truly hate that most people assume that one must either not believe in god or must believe in some new-age bullshit if they believe in evolution. Hello, the Catholic Church recognizes evolution!

Secondly, one can teach morality without teaching about a religion. Why must the two be connected? I know plenty of people who were raised atheists, who have strong morals, just as I know plenty of people who raised under a religious faith, who seem to be lacking in moral values. And when it comes to issues of morality, there are so many grey areas, especially when you connect religion to morality. Hence, why it is difficult to teach morality in schools. Plus, many parents prefer to teach their own morals and values to their children, rather than have it taught in schools. However, morals are still taught in schools, both public and private. While I was student teaching in a public school, I taught a lesson on The Code of Hammurabi. Religion was not discussed once, but we did have quite a riveting discussion on moral codes and laws.

Thirdly, it seems that this person is implying that teaching about Darwinism in schools is leading to increased bullying. Bullying can start as early as kindergarten, and from what I remember from grade school, the second and third grades seemed ripe with bullying on the playground... but Darwinism and the Theory of Evolution tend not to be taught in great depths until much later in schools and focused on primarily in junior high and high school. Further more, bullying is not a recent phenomenon, but teaching evolution in schools sort of is, as many states did not make it legal to teach about evolution until the last decade and many still teach the theory of intelligent design. (Check out this article: Fighting Over Darwin, State by State for further insight.)

Well, enough of this rant... for now anyway.

Tell me, how do you feel about this?

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