Good point. I would go further and say a Department of Creation Science shouldn’t necessarily be thrown out on 1st amendment grounds. It doesn’t establish a state religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion. It should just be thrown out because the people in charge conclude it doesn’t advance the mission or objectives of the unive…
Good point. I would go further and say a Department of Creation Science shouldn’t necessarily be thrown out on 1st amendment grounds. It doesn’t establish a state religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion. It should just be thrown out because the people in charge conclude it doesn’t advance the mission or objectives of the university and make the tough decision to close it down even if it has zealous advocates.
While I agree if it was a department of creation science in general -- for instance took seriously the idea that maybe it was aliens or maybe it happened according to the Hindu creation myths -- I do think at some point it does become establishment of religion when it enshrines the particular details of one religion's account of creation into the content (eg the age is as per bible not the huge times of the Hindus and it's a single creator and...).
I mean, it would surely be establishment of religion if the government made everyone take a class in "miracles in history" and every example was one that Jesus did in the bible and I think it's getting close if you enshrine all the details from the bible into your notion of creation science.
Creation, even literalist biblical creation, cuts across multiple religions and wouldn’t be elevating a single religion, or even if they did, it would likely have other department with more typical views on Science, so that literalist Creationism would not be the only viewpoint that is tolerated. It should fall to the university heads, not judges re-interpreting the Constitution in ways never meant by the founders, to determine that Creation Studies does not belong at the university.
Good point. I would go further and say a Department of Creation Science shouldn’t necessarily be thrown out on 1st amendment grounds. It doesn’t establish a state religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion. It should just be thrown out because the people in charge conclude it doesn’t advance the mission or objectives of the university and make the tough decision to close it down even if it has zealous advocates.
While I agree if it was a department of creation science in general -- for instance took seriously the idea that maybe it was aliens or maybe it happened according to the Hindu creation myths -- I do think at some point it does become establishment of religion when it enshrines the particular details of one religion's account of creation into the content (eg the age is as per bible not the huge times of the Hindus and it's a single creator and...).
I mean, it would surely be establishment of religion if the government made everyone take a class in "miracles in history" and every example was one that Jesus did in the bible and I think it's getting close if you enshrine all the details from the bible into your notion of creation science.
Creation, even literalist biblical creation, cuts across multiple religions and wouldn’t be elevating a single religion, or even if they did, it would likely have other department with more typical views on Science, so that literalist Creationism would not be the only viewpoint that is tolerated. It should fall to the university heads, not judges re-interpreting the Constitution in ways never meant by the founders, to determine that Creation Studies does not belong at the university.
Or failing the university leaders - legislators and voters. Same for all the Woke Studies departments.