As Texas works to revise its science education guidelines for public schools, concern has surfaced that "loopholes" will be pushed into the standards allowing religious-based "creationism" into the public school curriculum. A mandate to teach evolution's "strengths and weaknesses" worries Church-State separation watchdogs who point to Louisiana's similar wording, which also includes permission for teachers to use "supplemental materials" to teach evolution's "weaknesses."
The reason Texas's policy matters so much is that, as the second largest purchaser of textbooks (after California), that state's policies have a way of influencing the content of textbooks that are offered for sale everywhere else.
How long will it take before we all agree that public education in this country is not for prostletizing? Here's an enlightening anecdote:
A friend of mine was teaching an introductory class in American religion at the college level. When she brought up the debate about creationism in public school science classes, many of her students were confused. It seems she had students in the class who represented religions with at least three distinct creation myths (yes, I said "myths") and they were puzzled as to which of these stories it was that the public schools were teaching as science.
It is puzzling indeed--and proof of how critical it is in a pluralistic society to keep religious instruction in the private realm.
