Just over 5 years ago, the scientific community turned its attention to a courtroom in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Eleven parents sued their Dover, Pennsylvania, school board to overturn a policy explicitly legitimizing intelligent design creationism. The case, Kitzmiller v. Dover [ http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf ], followed a familiar script: Local citizens wanted their religious values validated by the science curriculum; prominent academics testified to the scientific consensus on evolution; and creationists lost decisively. Intelligent design was not science, held the court, but rather an effort to advance a religious view via public schools, a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause. Many scientists cheered the decision, agreeing with the court that the school board displayed “breathtaking inanity.” We suggest that the cheering was premature and the victory incomplete.
Berkman MB, Plutzer E. Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom. Science 2011;331(6016):404-5. Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom
Berkman MB, Plutzer E. Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom. Science 2011;331(6016):404-5. Defeating Creationism in the Courtroom, But Not in the Classroom
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