Intelligent design not science
A US District court judge has ruled the teaching of “intelligent design” would violate the Constitutional separation of church and state.
To quote from the judge’s ruling:
“We have concluded that it is not [science], and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents,”
“To be sure, Darwin’s theory of evolution is imperfect. However, the fact that a scientific theory cannot yet render an explanation on every point should not be used as a pretext to thrust an untestable alternative hypothesis grounded in religion into the science classroom or to misrepresent well-established scientific propositions,”
Intelligent design activists criticised the ruling, saying it would marginalise beliefs based on religion. Opponents of intelligent design say the decision by Republican judge John Jones was a landmark ruling and represents quite a blow to religious conservatives. In his ruling, Judge Jones demolished assertions by members of school administrators, that the theory of intelligent design (ID) was based around scientific rather than religious belief. The judge said he had determined that ID was not science and “cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents”.
Good decision by the judge, who incidentally was a Bush appointee (and Bush has backed ID teaching). “Intelligent design” is just a try on by the Christian conservatives who for some strange reason have such a huge influence in the USA.
