Council of Europe: Ban Creationism since it may
become "Threat to Human Rights" and Democracy
Ominously paints
a "war on the theory of evolution" by religious extremists
"closely allied to extreme right-wing political movements"
By John-Henry Westen
STRASBOURG, November 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (CoE) has adopted a resolution to ban creationism from
receiving any discussion in schools outside of religion classes. "The
Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread
of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences
for our democracies," said the resolution adopted on October 4 by the
Parliament made up of 626 members elected from each European Member State.
"If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights
which are a key concern of the Council of Europe," said the resolution.
The CoE, an advisory body without power to mandate its resolutions, calls on
all nations of Europe "to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism as a
scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution and in
general resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than
religion."
The statement has raised eyebrows of many in the scientific community who
reject strict 'dogmatic' adherence to Darwinian evolution, and find scientific
basis for belief in creation or in 'intelligent design' of the universe.
Over 700 scientists have signed onto a document proclaiming their skepticism
about Darwinian evolution. The statement reads: "We are skeptical of
claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for
the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian
theory should be encouraged."
Moreover, a movie to be released in February of 2008 exposes how atheists in
academia have in some cases brutally silenced scientists who have presented
research which counters the Darwinian credo.
David Berlinski, a mathematician and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute
(a think tank which is open to scientific inquiry into Intelligent Design) has
made many scientific critiques of Darwinian evolution. Commenting on the
CoE resolution said, "if this is what a threat to human rights amounts to,
count me among its supporters; I'm threatening away with the best of
them."
The CoE resolution paints those who question evolution theory and find
scientific evidence for intelligent design of the universe as if they rejected
science altogether. "The total rejection of science is definitely one of
the most serious threats to human rights and civic rights," says the
resolution. It ominously paints a "war on the theory of
evolution" by religious extremists "closely allied to extreme
right-wing political movements" who "are out to replace democracy by
theocracy."
"If we are not careful, the values that are the very essence of the
Council of Europe will be under direct threat from creationist
fundamentalists," said the resolution. "It is part of the role of the
Council's parliamentarians to react before it is too late."
Prior to its adoption, the European Center for Law and Justice opposed the
resolution arguing: "The result of passing the Resolution would be the
prevention of academic and educative discussion between the theory of
intelligent design and the theory of evolution. This approach can only hamper
the educational progress of students by restricting their examination of
competing scientific ideas and will necessarily violate the right to freedom of
expression, including academic freedom, and the right to free exercise of
religion in education."
A Discovery Institute analysis of the resolution countered, "Isn't science
supposed to permit - and even embrace - skepticism and doubt? By equating
Darwin-doubting with a thought-crime against humanity, the resolution exposes
the CoE as being the very types of dogmatists they claim to eschew."
See the resolution online here:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText...