bugger it

Die Parliamentarier des 47 Nationen umfassenden Europarates haben die Resolution The dangers of creationism in education angenommen und empfehlen den Mitgliedsstaaten to firmly oppose the teaching of creationism – which denies the evolution of species through natural selection – as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution.Die Resolution wurde mit 48 gegen 25 Stimmen und 3 Enthaltungen angenommen (Abstimmungsergebnis nach Ländern und Abgeordneten).

Die parlamentarische Versammlung des Europarates (PACE) erklärte dazu: If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights.

Die ehemalige luxemburgische Bildungsministerin Anne Brasseur sagte: It is not a matter of opposing belief and science, but it is necessary to prevent belief from opposing science.

Des weiteren wurde von den Abgeordneten darauf hingewiesen, dass das Hauptziel der Kreationisten - die in de Regel aus dem christlichen oder muslimischen Lager kommen - die Bildung sei und Kreationisten zu erreichen versuchten, dass ihre Ideen in die naturwissenschaftlichen Lehrpläne der Schulen aufgenommen werden. Es wurde darauf hingewiesen, dass Kreationismus keine wissenschaftliche Disziplin darstellt: Creationism cannot, however, lay claim to being a scientific discipline.

Die Abgeordneten erläuterten weiter, dass eine reale Gefahr einer schwerwiegenden Verwirrung bei Kindern bestünde, wenn Glaube und Wissenschaft vermischt würden: The theory of evolution has nothing to do with divine revelation but is built on facts.

Die Gefahr bei “intelligent design” läge darin, dass hier auf subtilem Weg versucht werde, dem Ganzen einen wissenschaftlichen Anstrich zu verpassen.

Auch auf den wachsenden Einfluss von kreationistischen Ideen in Europa wurde hingewiesen: Creationism … was for a long time an almost exclusively American phenomenon… today creationist ideas are tending to find their way into Europe and their spread is affecting quite a few Council of Europe member states.

Hier noch einige Auschnitte aus der Debatte:

Those creationists claimed that changes perceived on the earth were not the result of evolution, but were willed by God. Such people were trying to bring the realm of belief into the body of science in order to discredit Darwin’s theory of evolution.Anne Brasseur (LUX)

The most intransigent supporters of creationism believe that the earth is only 6 000 years old and that dinosaurs and human beings once lived side by side. We can laugh about that. However, when we hear that 64% of Americans favour teaching intelligent design alongside evolution, and that 38% of them support abandoning the teaching of evolution in publicly owned schools, that is not so funny. When we hear education ministers in European countries questioning evolution, we realise that the fundamentalist campaign has had an impact.Morgan Johanssen (SF)

Every child has the right to hear what science has so far revealed about the world. It is not up to parents to decide. As a parent, one often feels that children are a wonderful gift. In some respects they are a gift, but we do not own them. They are individuals, with their own rights. They have the right to explore the world and hear what science has to say about nature, mankind and the universe. Every child has the right to seek its own answers to the deep philosophical and existential questions.

The creationists are threatening those rights… We should not let them succeed in Europe.Morgan Johanssen (SF)

Kleine Anmerkung: der Bezug auf die Menschenrechte sollte mit dem Änderungsantrag 3 (Amendmend 3) gestrichen werden, der wurde glücklicherweise mit 43 zu 27 Stimmen abgelehnt!

The issue involves fighting against fundamentalism and tendencies in society aimed at taking over our thinking. People want to stop us expressing our views. Whether it is a cartoon of Mohammed portrayed as a dog or whether it is something else, we must be careful to fight off such tendencies in society. We must stand on a scientific platform. Freedom of speech and expression go hand in hand with the absolute need to have a scientific platform in education.Göran Lindblad (SF)

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