Senators in Utah and South Carolina state senates favor public opinion in their constituencies over science
Some believe that South Carolina, one of the devoutly Republican states in the Bible Belt, will be an easy sell when it comes to passing a bill that would require schools to teach alternatives to evolution. Sen. Mike Pear, FAIR, has not had much success so far in passing a bill that he believes would simply expand the education Theories on the Origin of Species and Man In a proposal he submitted on June 1, he called on the State Board of Education to establish scientific standards as follows which will include the teaching of "the full range of scientific opinions" on controversial issues, including evolution.
"If they talk about natural selection in schools, it's a fact." says Pierre. "If you're talking about Molecules becoming human over the course of a kazillion years, the odds are so remote that they're actually scientifically impossible. The scientists should say that, not the priests."
Despite South Carolina being a religiously oriented state, lawmakers have been slow to try to open up the debate about evolution in schools.
The state may be reluctant to pass laws encouraging creationism in order not to quarrel with other states, says Dave Woodard, a political science expert at Clemson University. In agricultural Pennsylvania, the school board ordered that students hear in biology classes about an alternative theory known as "intelligent design" and this caused a legal battle. Officials in one Georgia district put anti-evolution warning stickers on textbooks before a judge overturned the decision. In Kansas, legislators may demand that the scientific standards be expanded to include a critique of evolution.
There is great controversy over the question of evolution versus creation, Woodard said. While the religious right is pushing for changes in the way evolution is taught and demanding that creationism be included in schools, it's not a movement that has swept the country, said political science expert Neil Thigpen of Francis Marion University.
"It's common to think that South Carolina is tailor-made for such a concept, but it turns out that even zealous Republicans prefer not to engage in it. Pierre's proposal will receive very little support when the state senate reconvenes in January, but the majority would prefer to stay away and not talk about the issue, Thigpen said.
And a local senator in Utah is also trying to change the laws of nature
Utah school curriculum officials said they will not change the way human evolution is taught in schools, despite an attempt by a local senator to say otherwise.
Senator Chris Buttars, said that he intends to introduce a bill that would require the study of alternative concepts of human existence. Now he says discussions he had with those in charge of the schools raised his confidence that the teachers who teach human evolution will discuss the subject.
However, the director of curricula in the country, Bret Molding, said that the standard for studying biological diversity does not prevent the study of human evolution, this is because humans are biological creatures like all other animals and plants and therefore they should not be skipped in the studies of evolution.
"If teachers choose to teach human evolution, it is in the curriculum," he said.
Curriculum supervisor Patty Harrington said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency that "there is not enough evidence to know how the earth was formed and there is no evidence of a connection between the monkey and human families." Molding said that he is not sure that Harrington's thoughts are indeed reflected in these words, which received an immediate response from the biologist from the University of Utah, Prof. Dennis Bramble Bramble.
"Most scientists would not see this as an acceptable and legitimate position," said the biologist, whose research on human evolutionary adaptations was the cover story in the November 18, 2004 issue of the journal Nature. "The genetic similarity between modern apes and modern humans is extremely high," he said. "It fits into the increasingly complete fossil record." Bramble bemoaned the idea of hiding science information from school students.
"I think the role of public schools is to present modern science as we know it and to let students know how science works." saying.
But Botars claims that the schools should respect the values and beliefs of the students and their parents. "In my constituency," he said. "The absolute majority of the inhabitants believe that God created man and that we are his spiritual sons, not his spiritual monkeys." He is willing to give the state's schools a one-seat delay in the Senate, to bring those who do not follow the rut into the rut." If this does not happen, he said, he will renew his demand that public schools be required to teach the theory of "intelligent planning" alongside The evolution.
This alternative theory claims that human existence is best explained by creation by an intelligent designer, and that there is ample evidence of a designer in large parts of nature. Critics say that this theory is simple creationism, or the literal belief of the biblical creation story.
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