September 19th, 2008
Many UK teachers support creationism
After Royal Society education director Michael Reiss was forced out of his position over comments that creationism could be taught in science class, a new survey find more than a quarter of British teachers agree, The Telegraph reports.
In a survey by Southampton University, 36 percent of teachers said God was involved in humanity’s creation and 28 percent said the religious version of creation should be taught in school.
One science teacher told researchers: “Human beings were created by a divine being pretty much in their present form.”
Another said: “I would like students to respect and understand religious beliefs, and I would like those with belief to understand the importance of their beliefs, without the necessity for them to be scientific.”
A researcher interviewed 66 science and religious education teachers. What’s unclear, though, is where the two groups come down. After all, it wouldn’t be surprising that religion teachers would support teaching creationism. Unlike the U.S., Britain does have a state religion and apparently teaching religion is part of the school day.
