Science-religion debate at Bret Harte High could go to court

[MineralMan]

At a school in California's Gold Country, a lawsuit brought by a student seeks to bring creationism into science classrooms. There will be plenty of support to do this, but will the opposition be there to counter these arguments?

http://www.uniondemocrat.com/localnews/6069776-151/science-religion-debate-at-bret-harte-high-could-go

Science-religion debate at Bret Harte High could go to court

An Angels Camp school and the district it belongs to won’t change a policy addressing discussion of religion in science classes, and the family of a student who challenged the policy in December might take the matter to court.

In December, a 16-year-old sophomore at Bret Harte High School, Grayson Mobley, said he should have the right to discuss God and creationism in science class.

Backed by his parents and scores of supporters from local churches, Mobley asked the school board to change its policy that prohibits discussion of religion in science classes. His lawyer, Greg Glaser, said the family would sue if the board does not allow freedom of expression in class.

Contacted last Friday, Mike Chimente, superintendent for Bret Harte Union High School District, said the district has no plans to change the policy or put it on a school board agenda for discussion.

Maybe they could do experiments to see if prayer can entice the deity to create something. All sorts of possibilities present themselves. Discuss...

[Cartoonist]

1. My simple solution

If you want god taught in school, you first have to prove god exists.

[MineralMan]

2. Even simpler: Send the kid to some Christian school and don't

interrupt the science classes for the other students. Problem solved. For a religious family to insist that their religious beliefs be taught in public school is the height of arrogance. This problem has already been adjudicated. Those folks need a new hobby, I think.

Coerced teaching of religious doctrine has no place in public schools. Period.

[Act_of_Reparation]

3. Maybe we should explain NOMA to him.

I'm sure that once we've pointed out that science and religion answer different questions, he'll see reason and go about his merry way.

[MineralMan]

4. I'm certain that would do the trick...

[longship]

5. NOMA? Where's that?

NOMA is non-existent. Religion never fails to cross over into science. The magisteria overlap because religion insists on making that so.

The NOMA claimants have it demonstrably wrong.

[MineralMan]

6. Maybe it should just be OMA.

That would make more sense, I think.

[longship]

7. No doubt about that!

[MineralMan]

8. OMA? Oprah. Oprah? OMA.

Yet another obscure allusion.

[Mariana]

9. He wants to preach to the class? Oh hell no.

The other students should not be subjected to that.

[struggle4progress]

10. I should think the school system can easily prevail here:

one merely indicates that the project of science is to provide good naturalistic explanations of natural phenomena, with the aim of gaining some predictive mastery of the natural world

Presumably, the school does not infringe on students' freedom of expression by disallowing marching band members from practicing tuba in history classes; preventing track team members from developing their hurdle-jumping skills in math classes; or removing students who insist on spending their time, in Spanish language classes, arguing that the course ignores the importance of other languages, such as Finnish