The bill requires public schools to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized. If a student's religious beliefs were in conflict with scientific theory, and the student chose to express those beliefs rather than explain the theory in response to an exam question, the student's incorrect response would be deemed satisfactory, according to this bill.
The school would be required to reward the student with a good grade, or be considered in violation of the law. Even simple, factual information such as the age of the earth (4.65 billion years) would be subject to the student's belief, and if the student answered 6,000 years based on his or her religious belief, the school would have to credit it as correct.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Science education and religion
Would a bill like the "Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act" be constitutional? Which cases are most relevant to this law? Which principles? Are the potential consequences of such a law for students in Oklahoma relevant to the constitutional question?
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We already have enough government entanglement in schools. There doesn't need to be anymore, especially with a bill like this. Subjective answers would run so rampant that there would literally be no wrong answer to any questions. All a student has to do is claim that this answer reflects my religion, values, or personal belief system. The kid could be sincere, or he/she could have made it up on the spot with the wild imagination kids are known to have. Next thing you know, school systems will be required to do religious background checks. Its not like our school aren't strapped for money as it is. This bill is absurd and should be rejected immediately.
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