Creationist Indiana GOP Senator demands teachers prove evolution

Indiana Republican Senator Dennis Kruse has put forth another bill for consideration in his quest to teach biblical creationism alongside evolution in Indiana public schools. Kruse’s previous attempts are creationist legislation have failed, but his latest attempt takes a different track.

Kruse, who is the Chairman of the Indiana Senate Education and Career Development Committee, introduced new legislation that he calls ‘Truth in Education.’

While the bill will not mention religion, deity or doctrine, it will allow students to challenge the science of evolution, and force teachers to prove its validity. This will no doubt thrust creationism into the argument, forcing a discussion of religion in the public classroom.

ThinkProgress covers the issue, quoting Kruse as stating,

“If you’re teaching something, then a student could question that and say, you know, ‘How do you know that’s true?’ And so the teacher would have to come up with different sources, ‘This is why I think this is true.’”

The report states that Democratic Senator Tim Skinner thinks the legislation is unnecessary, stating,

“If Senator Kruse had education experience he would know that students across the country are already doing that every day in the public school classroom. They question everything, and I think a teacher who’s actually doing their job will answer those questions.”

A similar bill was passed last April in Tennessee, with the added factor that teachers who choose to teach creationism will not be penalized.

A God Discussion story that was run yesterday cited another blow for creationism, when a voucher program sponsored by Governor Bobby Jindal that would have allocated large amounts of money to religious public schools was struck down by a Louisiana court.

For more information, commentary and relevant links, read the whole story here.

Al Stefanelli

Al serves on the Board of Directors for The Clergy Project, and is the former Georgia State Director for American Atheists, Inc. He is a retired journalist and the author of "Free Thoughts - A Collection Of Essays By An American Atheist" and "A Voice Of Reason In An Unreasonable World - The Rise Of Atheism On Planet Earth." Al began writing in 1985, starting with the New York Times. In 1993 he joined a McClatchy newspaper, writing a weekly column for ten years. His writing continues to be widely distributed on the Internet and in print. He also produced and hosted a weekly syndicated radio broadcast for three years and was the founder and President of the former United Atheist Front, Inc., which functioned as a civil rights organization. Al is a former Southern Baptist Pastor, having served two churches and as pulpit supply for three counties. Currently, he writes for The God Discussion, hosts his own blog on WordPress, submits content to a variety of publications, and co-hosts "American Heathen Radio" and "Reap Sow Radio." Al lives in Peachtree City, GA., a suburb of Atlanta.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn - Pinterest - Google Plus - YouTube - Reddit