The Royal Society cites the fossil record as evidence
Leading scientists in Britain have begun to warn against teaching creationism in schools, saying that students need to get a clear message that science backs up the theory of evolution. The announcement by the British Royal Society came after claims that in some schools creationism is being promoted alongside evolution.
Meanwhile, representatives at the conference of the National Organization of Teachers and Lecturers in Great Britain rejected calls to enact laws that would ban the study of creationism. The Ministry of Education stated that creationism was not taught in school.
The Royal Society's statement said that students may want to explore the competing teachings of science and the diversity of beliefs, and that they should be encouraged to do so. However, because the students get a wrong picture of science, and therefore may misinterpret scientific knowledge and understanding for them, with the aim of promoting one or another religious belief."
The message also stated: "Belief that all creatures on Earth have always existed in their current form does not fit with the abundance of evidence in favor of evolution, such as the fossil record.
Similarly, the belief that the Earth was created in 4004 BC (according to the Christian calculations of the Archbishop Asher of the periods in Tanach which led him to add several hundred years to the Jewish calculation), does not agree with the evidence from the fields of geology, astronomy and the physics of the solar system, according to which the solar system, including Earth, were formed 4.6 billion years ago.
The Vice President of the Royal Society, Prof. David Reid, commented on what was happening at King's Academy in Middlesbrough. The school is one of three managed by the Emanuel Schools Fund, which is financed by the Christian car dealer Sir Peter Verdi. The foundation was criticized for introducing creationist theories in schools.
Vardi said that the schools introduce both Darwin's theory of evolution and creationism. In 2003, Verdi was quoted as saying "Theory is one thing, and a religious position is another, the children must decide."
Prof. Reid said that the reports about what is happening at the academy in Middlesbrough illustrate how the education system allows creationist beliefs to be promoted in relation to scientific knowledge. "Our government strives to build a flexible education system, but it should also ensure and act so that the young do not learn as if the scientific evidence supports creationism and intelligent design in the same way that it supports evolution."
In recent days, the teachers' organizations in Great Britain discussed the question of the role of the teacher at their annual meeting. Members were asked to vote calling on the government to carry out oversight to prevent the growing influence of religious organizations in the country's schools and to stop funding religiously oriented schools.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, recently said that he was uncomfortable with the teaching of creationism in schools. The spokesman for the Ministry of Education said that neither creationism nor the theory of intelligent design should be taught in schools. "The national science curriculum explicitly states that it should be taught that the fossil record is evidence of evolution, and how natural selection may lead to development or extinction.
Academies are required to follow this basic curriculum requirement. Their requirements regarding science studies are no different from those of other schools.
