Church and State: August 2005 Archives

United Kingdom: Two-thirds of respondents in a Guardian/ICM poll oppose the government's plans to allow more religious schools into the state system.

The survey reveals that following last month's terror attacks, the majority of the public are uneasy about the proposals, with 64% agreeing that the government should not be funding faith schools of any kind.

The main concern was that such schools have a negative impact on social cohesion.

Yesterday Barry Sheerman, chairman of the Commons education select committee, warned that religious schools posed a threat to the cohesion of multicultural communities.

Do we want a ghettoised education system? asked Mr Sheerman. Schools play a crucial role in integrating different communities and the growth of faith schools poses a real threat to this. These things need to be thought through very carefully before they are implemented.

Two thirds oppose state aided faith schools, The Guardian, 23rd August 2005.

Australia: Looks like I'm slacking off in the spotting of local loons. This article on another spokestwit for Intelligent Design was sent in by eagle-eyed Prattle reader, Terry Frost.

As Terry states: This guy is the Federal Education Minister, not just the one for a state. It's not quite Bush shooting his mouth off the other day, but from down here in Melbourne, it's scary.

The Education Minister throws open debate on a thorny theory in schools.

The controversial theory of intelligent design has won the qualified backing of Education Minister Brendan Nelson, who says it should be taught in schools alongside evolution if that is the wish of parents.

Intelligent design, which is damned by critics as a front for biblical Creationism, argues that life on Earth is too complex to have evolved purely through Darwin's theory of natural selection. Dr Nelson said yesterday he had met Campus Crusade for Christ, the Australian advocates of intelligent design, or ID, and watched their DVD presentation, called Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

He told the National Press Club in Canberra yesterday that he would oppose replacing evolution with ID in Australia's science classes but said parents should be able to choose that their children learn about it.