The results of religious in...

Sitting at my desk eating lunch I am catching up on some reading at my favorite blogs when I come across something that just makes me cringe. Phil (Bad Astronomy) links to an essay contest over at AIG where high school students submitted essays on the evolution/creation issue. Apparently there are some real prizes involved including a scholarship to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University for the top prize.

Reading the winning essay is chilling experience, but also a very revealing demonstration of what religious indoctrination does to a young mind. The result is a young person capable of activily denying solid evidence of the world around them and blindly following and repeating what they have been taught. The young lady revels in the act of persuading a friend to the same beliefs! The primary point of the essay is the argument that belief in evolution leads to a breakdown in morals and that understanding the universe about us is a direct assault in religion. The accusation is that science itself is immoral and corrupts those who do not literally believe everything taught by the bible. The chilling part is that the winning essay does not just infer or suggest this, but is quite blunt in stating that failing to believe in creation produces an immoral person capable of evil.

I take that a bit personally.

Phil also links to a great article on the Calgary Herald discussing these same issues of creation in schools.

The relationship between science and our society is under direct assault by better and better organized efforts. Those of us who work in and around the sciences need to learn more about this issue and take a stand in our efforts to educate our fellows about what the sciences are really about. We need to actively challenge those who spread misinformation and outright lies, they will not go away if we ignore them.