The purpose of Our Conscience weblog is to facilitate a greater discussion and understanding of church and state separation in our community and in others. Underlying this is the value that each individual should be allowed to follow the dictates of his or her own conscience without influence, coercion, or direction from the State when it comes to matters of religion.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

Cobb County Disclaimer Goes to Trial

Our Conscience

Cobb County, Georgia, has been the site of controversy over creationism and evolution off and on for decades. On November 8, 2004, a lawsuit began in the most recent chapter of this district's dissatisfaction with the teaching of evolution.

Selman et al. v. Cobb County School District et al. is being heard in the Atlanta Division of the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia. Plaintiff Jeffrey Selman is suing the Cobb County School District (CCSD) for injunctive relief over an antievolution disclaimer that the district required be inserted into textbooks. The wording of the disclaimer is:


This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.
The controversy began in the spring of 2002 when the CCSD adopted high school textbooks which included solid coverage of evolution, and the textbook committee, fearful of public reaction to students being taught "so much" evolution, sought to have a disclaimer put into the books that would defuse predicted parental response.

Read the entire article here

1 Comments:

Blogger Seth said...

Well, microevolution is a fact. For example, it is why the CDC has to come up with new vaccines every year. Macroevolution (that all life originated from ancient life) is still considered a theory. The problem of course is that they are singling out this particular theory based on religious objections. That is a no no for government agents.

I am glad you stopped by... E-mail me at ocean@joplin.com if you want to become a member of this blog. What part of the country are you from?

7:11 PM  

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