Biology textbook contested in court

Parents oppose view of creation

October 06, 2005|Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Early drafts of a student biology text contained references to creationism before they were replaced with the term ''intelligent design," a witness testified yesterday in a landmark trial over a school system's use of the book.

Drafts of the textbook, ''Of Pandas and People," written in 1987 were revised after the US Supreme Court ruled in June of that year that states could not require schools to balance evolution with creationism in the classroom, said Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Forrest reviewed drafts of the textbook as a witness for eight families who are trying to have the intelligent design concept removed from the Dover Area School District's biology curriculum.

The families contend that teaching intelligent design effectively promotes the Bible's view of creation, violating the separation of church and state.

Intelligent design holds that life on Earth is so complex that it must have been the product of some higher force. Opponents of the concept say intelligent design is simply creationism stripped of overt religious references.

Forrest outlined a chart of how many times the term ''creation" was mentioned in the early drafts versus how many times the term ''design" was mentioned in the published edition.

''They are virtually synonymous," she said.

Under the policy approved by Dover's school board in October 2004, students must hear a brief statement about intelligent design before classes on evolution. The statement says Charles Darwin's theory is ''not a fact" and has inexplicable ''gaps."

The trial, which began Sept. 26, is expected to last up to five weeks.