Should Creationism Be Taught In Schools? - Comments

Okay, so first thing. I really didn't think it was attention holding, I really thought it was dull. Then again that's my opinion. I read the first few paragraphs. Second, if you're touching something like this, I'd really suggest keeping your opinions out of this if you don't want the reactions your getting. From what I read though, you're calling people who aren't Christians good people, I'd really have to disagree on that. I know some people that don't have Faith in God or Jesus, but are really nice.

Yes, I think it Creationalism should be taught in schools, but people should choose to take the class. God doesn't put Himself on others that don't choose to believe. He waits for them. I've learned this over the nearly two years that I have been a Christian...

Why do people assume that teaching a concept in school is "shoving beliefs down my throat"? Because if that is the case the same can be said for teaching evolution. If it is offensive to atheists if they have to listen to the theory of creationism then it might be offensive to Christians to have to listen to evolution. That road goes both ways.

And for the record, I attend a private christian school and they taught both to allow the students to make the choice for themselves. I don't see what the big deal is here.

As has been stated: never assume anything about your readers. I object to being considered religious when that couldn't be further from the truth.

That said, no, it should not be taught. Creationism is based in fiction, not fact. It's as made up as the bible by someone who needed something to believe in. I don't for one second believe that someone sitting in the sky created earth and all the things on it. I had the misfortune to be raised Catholic and I split as soon as I could. If you teach this fictional concept in schools, you're in violation of keeping school secular.

If you want to teach this stuff, go to a religious school. Teach it at home to your kids. Send them to church and Sunday school. But don't put it in a SECULAR school and shove it down other kids' throats. I'm an agnostic, but you still won't get me to believe in the "big guy in the sky" concept. *shakes head*

I think you took the wrong approach with this article. You assumed a number of things that you shouldn’t have, and assuming things takes away from the article. There are just as many people that don’t believe in a god/goddess as there are people who do believe in those. You shouldn’t assume that a good portion of your readings believe in a deity. You also said that your class groaned in science that one day, but it may not have been learning about evolution that got them. In a lot of cases, the groaning students do is simply because they just don’t want to learn, regardless of the subject of the lesson. You see what I’m saying? Try not to assume things when you’re debating.

Also, I found that your article was hateful against those who don’t believe in a god[s]. I know many people who don’t believe in a deity, and they’re good people. Believing in a god[s] doesn’t make you a good person. That was a very hateful sounding assumption you made. Just remember, believing in a deity doesn’t make you any better a person than someone who doesn’t believe in a deity.

I personally do not think that creationism should be taught in science, because it isn’t science. Most high schools have a religion class, even the high school I attended had a religion class. And I went to a small school. The teachings of religion don’t belong in a science class because religion and science are two different things. Evolution belongs in science classes because it’s just that, a part of science. While creationism is a part of religion. Creationism belongs in religion classes. That’s just my opinion.

Cry me a river, [b]Paramatic[/b]. Your article was hateful against atheists and you know it. If you took out all of the "Atheists have no morals" crap, there wouldn't a reaction quite as negative as it is.

Okay look. This was merely a speech for Debate class and I didn't really think anyone here would read it. I'm just a kid, so please calm down.

Creationism is not science. Merely because it sounds more prettier and cutesy than truth doth not make it scientific.

Similarly, we are all going to die and become food for worms. Our names will be forgotten on a dying planet in a dying universe until all the stars stop and no light is left, no life.

That is just how things go. I don't think it should be taught since the so-called theory is laughable.

Besides, I'm a nihilistic atheist and I don't go around killing people. I would find that merely because you have no belief in higher power means that you're a fully active anarchist. Entirely different philosophies.

If a student is interested in learning about creationism, they can pick up some books on it, go to a religious school, take a class in college. Public schools in America are Government run. American government is supposed to be secular.

"There’s nothing that comes after this life, apparently, so why bother trying to be a good person?"
That seems like you're saying anyone who doesn't believe in an afterlife have no morals. Which is wrong. This article seemed very ignorant, and extreme, and your points don't make much sense. If I were you, I would take it down and revise.

If you want to learn about creationism, go to a xtian school. Don't try to take something that has been proven several times out of a public school (which is supposed to be secular). Obviously you aren't paying attention to the lesson because adapting to a changing world doesn't sound like a fairy tale to me.

However, a magical sky daddy does. Just saying...

Thanks for writing this. I agree, Creationism should be taught in schools.
If every evolutionist or Darwinist believes that the Bible holds no weight, then they should have no problem with a conflicting theory being taught alongside theirs. If it's so valueless to them, what's the problem with a faith-based teaching segment? I'm all for it.

I just attempted to read this essay. I... just can't. I personally find the assumptions made in it extremely offensive (probably because you're stating everything I believe in is wrong and ridiculous).

I have a problem when people assume things. Don't do that in a persuasive essay ever.

When I got to grade 11 our religion class turned into world religion, which is what should be taught if any type of religion is being taught in schools.
If you want to go further into a certain type of religion then by all means look it up, or go to a church. When I switched to a public school World Religion was an option not mandatory which is even better. If you want to learn it then take the class, however schools shouldn't shove it down our throats. If you go to a public school then it's your choice to take it. I never liked the idea of being forced to take religion class each year, but I went to a catholic school.

I personally do not believe in creationism, but I'm not a criminal. I'm not stealing things and murdering people. I'm not sure why I have to believe in a Christian doctrine in order to be a good person. There are plenty of good and bad people in this world, and they are NOT determined by whether they have Christian beliefs or not.

As for creationism being taught in school - I do not believe it should be taught in a science class. Like has already been said, creationism is not a SCIENCE. It is a religious belief. With that in mind, it can be taught in school classes surrounding cultural and/or religious studies, along with other religious takes on how this world was created. I am currently taking a religious studies course, and I love it. I plan on taking more courses in the future to further my understanding of other cultures’ beliefs.

As well, perhaps you might want to research evolution a bit more before you write a one-sided article around it. We didn't come from fish or monkeys. According to the evolution theory, we share common ancestors with chimpanzees - as someone has already said. The theory talks about genetic changes in species throughout history and how we came to be the genetic type of humans we are today.

On that tangent, evolution doesn't stamp out religious beliefs. My community is mainly Roman Catholic, and I have been a part of many discussions with people of faith who believe there is truth in both theories. You CAN be religious and spiritual at the same time.

"A philosophy, a viewpoint of science rooted in a worldview that blatantly disregards anything supernatural."

Science is different from a philosophy in that a philosophy can go without hard evidence. It's just a way of thinking. Scientific research and theories involve finding evidence to back them up.

"No God. No angels. Everything happened by accident, by chance. We came from fish, and monkeys and Neanderthals."

That is not how evolution works. We as humans share a common ancestor with chimpanzees. We didn't "come from" them.

"Is this really what we want to know, and want our descendants to know?"

If it's the truth, why shouldn't we?

"If so, what is to stop us from going out and committing crimes, causing a massacre or maybe committing suicide?"

I don't really see how evolution and the idea of the world happening by coincidence contribute to criminal mentality...

"There’s nothing that comes after this life, apparently, so why bother trying to be a good person? Why bring any children into the world?"

I found this went off on a tangent. But still, I'll answer it. Are you saying that the only reason we are good people is because there might be an afterlife? People only give to charities, and be nice to people, and don't do bad things, because they're scared of a hell? I'm really perplexed by what you seem to be implying.

"Allowing creationism to be taught enables students to learn about the different religions that came forth from it, which, in turn, has a great deal of educational value."

True. But that doesn't necessarily mean it should be taught intensively. If creationism NEEDS to be mentioned in schools, then the only worth it would give would be in religious education, concerning what other people believe.

"Discussing things like this provide critical thinking skills which should be emphasized more in our education."

That can happen in critical thinking lessons though. Instead of creationism being taught as a theory.

"From kindergarten we have it drilled into us that we have choices, that no one forces us to do anything. This topic causes you to think about your choices. But do we have any when it comes to mingling education with religion? Evidently, since this is being discussed, we do NOT."

There's nothing to stop students from researching religions by themselves if they're interested. And religions are fine to be taught [i]about[/i], for cultural studies. But it shouldn't be anywhere near preaching, at all.

I think that's a pretty big assumption to make.

i agree with the person below me. presonally i don't believe in creationism and i don't care if they teach it in school but if they do they shouldn't in science class. evolution is all sciencist so of course i should be in a science class. creationism isn't science so why should it be in that class.

it's like doing math in a english class. math doesn't believe to english so it should be taught in english, same thing with creationism and science class.

I don't think it's accurate to assume one, that most people reading this will be religious, and two, you shouldn't assume that everyone who is religious believes their opinions should be shoved down someone else's throat.

I don't know what type of school you go to, but I've never had any students "groan" when we learn about evolution. Additionally, you said yourself, it's a SCIENCE class. What about creationism is scientific? It's a belief, but it's not science and thus has no place in any science classroom.

"Teachers and students must be free to talk about controversial issues openly in the classroom to keep a spirit of freedom of speech and open-mindedness in the school setting."
In a school environment, teachers sacrifice some freedom of speech as part of their job. They can't preach about their political beliefs, tell students how to feel about abortion or anything else- religion is no exception. As for students, they CAN talk about creationism, but that doesn't mean it needs to be part of the curriculum.

"I think that everyone should at least have a chance to choose for themselves, especially the teenagers. We are old enough and wise enough, and we’ve been through quite a lot of experiences which could give us enough sense as to what we want to believe"

Teenagers, Ideally, have not even lived a quarter of their lives. I think you're grossly exaggerating a teenagers life experiences, and would this thinking apply to any other part of school? If I hated algebra, could I skip out on that too? No, because school is meant to prepare you for the future, and skipping out on hard things or things you dislike is not the way to go.

Additionally, even if you don't believe in evolution, you still need to understand it. If you're completely ignorant about what evolution is, how do you know it's wrong?

" poll taken in 2009 showed that 66% of children between the ages of 13 and 17 wanted to know more about creationism than they were being taught"
I see no source for that statistic. How do you know that applies to the general public, and not a select Christian demographic?

"There’s nothing that comes after this life, apparently, so why bother trying to be a good person?"
First off, there are religious people who believe in evolution. If you had done research, you could have incorporated that in this article. Additionally, it sounds like you're choosing creationism because it sounds nicer, not because of any real evidence or fact. Also, many people, and I say MANY people, do believe in evolution, and they're not all out committing crimes, so I think that's a very invalid argument.

"Allowing creationism to be taught enables students to learn about the different religions that came forth from it,"
What do you mean different religions? You seem to be speaking from a strictly Christian point of view, and religions like Hinduism of Buddhism have completely different ideas about Creation. That's why this can never be a scientific idea taught in a classroom.

"We came from fish, and monkeys and Neanderthals."
I think this line shows how little you researched this article, and represents a gross misunderstanding of what evolution is.

Perhaps before you criticize something, you should understand what it truly is.