COE

Council of Europe passes resolution to ban creationism from classroom

By ECLJ1243540754090

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently adopted a resolution that recommended a prohibition towards the teaching of creationism in any educational setting outside of religion classes.

In June 2007, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) presented a brief to the Council of Europe in response to a Council report that served as the basis for this resolution. In its brief, the ECLJ argued that, “[t]he aim of the Report is to forego scientific discussion between the theories of evolution and creationism, or intelligent design, to impede the educational formation of children by restricting classroom exploration of ideas, and effectively infringe on the rights of free exercise of expression, religion, and education.” Therefore, this project goes against the respect for pluralism and diversity of ideas and opinions that the Council of Europe claims to stand for.

As a result of the ECLJ intervention, the vote on the resolution had been postponed from July to October, the initial report of the Rapporteur was dismissed. The new Rapporteur tried to minimize the anti-religious character of the resolution, adding, as an introduction, a disclaimer against any attack on one’s right to freedom of belief.

However, the October 4 resolution, as voted, reads more like an alarmist screed against the dangers of creationism and belief rather than a well-researched and formal pronouncement of a parliamentary body.  A typical example can be found in paragraph 18:

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. It is part of the role of the Council’s parliamentarians to react before it is too late.

Ironically, in the process of portraying creationism as based purely on dogmatic religious beliefs, the resolution reinforces its supporters own dogmatic belief in evolution:

Evolution is not simply a matter of the evolution of humans and of populations. Denying it could have serious consequences for the development of our societies.

The authors of the resolution do not shy away from revealing why they feel the need to target creationism, and brands its supporters as religious extremists:

The war on the theory of evolution and on its proponents most often originates in forms of religious extremism which are closely allied to extreme right-wing political movements. The creationist movements possess real political power. The fact of the matter, and this has been exposed on several occasions, is that some advocates of strict creationism are out to replace democracy by theocracy.

As many MPs and commentators have said, this resolution goes too far, is hyper-alarmist, and finally discredits the work of the Council of Europe. This resolution not only goes against freedom of religion, but it also goes against the rights of free exercise of scientific research, expression, and education.

According to Grégor Puppinck, counsel for the ECLJ, “the promoters of the resolution never explained the ideological connection between Democracy and Darwinism, and why the rational belief of a Creation could be a danger for our democratic institutions”. As a matter of fact; this resolution is purely ideological, much more than political. This is the reason why very few MPs were present during the debate and the vote (30 out of 630). The ECLJ opinion is that the majority of the MPs did not want to publicly support or oppose it.

Grégor Puppinck explained that by passing this resolution, some MPs wanted to pre-empt any European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case ruling in favor of free education on the issue of Evolution versus Creationism. In this way, the political trial came first.

Another serious issue with the resolution is that it severs the independent role of science from politics. Scientific research must be open and free, and have proper respect for the common good and the dignity of the human person.

Finally, it should be noted that there is hardly a scientific consensus on the theory of evolution. Earlier this year, over 700 scientists, many of them prominent in their fields, signed onto a document entitled “A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism” that expressed many doubts about evolution and stated that a “[c]areful examination of the evidence of Darwinian theory should be encouraged”.


The Counsel of Europe resolution can be viewed here:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/AdoptedText/ta07/ERES1580.htm

The brief of the European Centre for Law and Justice on this issue can be viewed here:
http://www.eclj.org/PDF/070621_ECLJ_Response.pdf

“A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism” and its signatories can be viewed here:
http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org/

The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), an NGO  in Special Consultative Status with Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, is  based in Strasbourg, France, and promotes the defense of religious liberty, human dignity, and the family in Europe and internationally.  www.eclj.org



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