WASHINGTON (ABP) — Opponents of “intelligent design” theory have opened a new front in the battle over the controversial theory, filing suit against a California school district that teaches intelligent design as philosophy rather than science.
On Jan. 1, the district's board of trustees voted to allow teaching of an elective course called “Philosophy of Design” at Frazier Mountain High School in the town of Lebec, located in the mountains about 65 miles north of Los Angeles.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit Jan. 11 in federal court on behalf of 11 parents in California's El Tejon Unified School District, saying the course is not simply teaching intelligent design but teaching it from a specifically religious viewpoint.
A course description, which was given to district parents in December, said the class would “take a close look at evolution as a theory and will discuss the scientific, biological, and biblical aspects that suggest why Darwin's philosophy is not rock solid…. Physical and chemical evidence will be presented suggesting the earth is thousands of years old, not billions.”
Intelligent design theory has been offered by a handful of respected biologists — and endorsed by many conservative religious leaders — as an alternative to naturalistic theories of evolution. It posits that some biological structures are too complex to have evolved merely by the process of natural selection; instead, they are evidence of a super-intelligent designer.
But many biologists and moderate religious leaders have condemned ID as inextricably linked to creation science, which they say is more about theology than science.
In December, a federal judge agreed with them, ruling that a Pennsylvania school district's practice of endorsing ID in high-school biology classes violates the Constitution's prohibition on government establishment of religion.
However, several of the practice's critics said, at the time, they had no objection to ID theory being taught in philosophy or humanities classes.
But AU leaders said the California case is different, because the course is weighted toward a fundamentalist Christian view of the origins of life.
“Religious Right activists are looking for every opportunity to proselytize students into their doctrines. The so-called 'philosophy' course in Lebec is the latest maneuver in a long line of misguided schemes,” said AU's executive director, Barry Lynn, in a press statement on the lawsuit.
“This situation has nothing to do with academic freedom or teaching critical thinking, as school officials contend,” Lynn continued. “This is a clear case of government promotion of religion, and it violates the U.S. Constitution. Public schools serve children of many faiths and none, and the curriculum should never single out a particular religious viewpoint for preferential treatment.”
The course was conceived by Sharon Lemburg, a special-education teacher who is also married to an Assemblies of God minister.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Lemburg feels a divine calling to teach the course. “Did God guide me to do this?” she said, in an interview with a reporter from the newspaper. “I would hope so.”
Lemburg began teaching the month-long course Jan. 3.
The lawsuit is Hurst v. Newman.
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