What is behind the current debate about religious theories of creation?
Proponents of religious theories of creation have recently renewed their efforts to persuade public schools to teach creationism, creation science, and intelligent design theory either along side or in place of evolution. This has triggered controversy in a number of state legislatures and boards of education and among parents. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to believe the religious theories of creation (as well as other theories) but it does not permit religious theories to be taught in public school science classes. This distinction makes sense, and is ultimately good for religion, because it leaves religious instruction to properly trained clergy and to parents (where religious education properly belongs), it keeps government out of religious controversies, and it ensures that public school classrooms remain hospitable to an ethnically diverse, religiously pluralistic country.
