Academic Freedom to Debate the Evolution and Creationism Theories

The goal of this petition is to allow creationism to be taught alongside evolution in the public schools of Broward County. I am writing this petition not because I am an advocate for religious freedom in public schools, but because I am an advocate for all that is fair and just, and for allowing students to be taught "how to think, not what to think."

In August of 2005, President Bush made the following statement to Texas newspaper reporters in a group interview at the White House regarding whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools: "Both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so people can understand what the debate is about...part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. . . . You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes."

I contend that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the public schools of Broward County. There is no legitimate excuse for not allowing both scientific theories to be discussed in the classrooms. It is only fair and just to present both sides of the argument. Teaching creation science is not about defending religious liberties because creationism is not a religion, it is a scientific theory. In fact, there are a large portion of scientists with impressive credentials, past and present, who have accepted creationism and intelligent design, including Gerald E. Aardsma, Louis Agassiz, Alexander Arndt, Steven A. Austin, Charles Babbage, and the list goes on and on.

Science Digest reported:

"Scientists who utterly reject Evolution may be one of our fastest-growing controversial minorities… Many of the scientists supporting this position hold impressive credentials in science."

So, with the evidence I have provided, the argument that evolution should be the only theory taught in public schools because it is the only theory accepted by "real" scientists is, to say the least, a weak one.

As I have stated previously, I do not want to bring religion into the public school system, I am merely trying to let creationism be taught as a "competing scientific theory."

If you want fairness restored into the classroom, and you want to fight for your academic freedom, and you want to be shown both sides of the argument for how life began, then sign the petition and fight for what's right!