Appalling stuff.

Ofqual and exam boards collude with ‘faith’ schools to censor questions on evolution
https://humanism.org.uk/2014/03/02/ofqual-exam-boards-collude-faith-schools-censor-questions-evolution/

This weekend a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that Ofqual, OCR, and other exam boards have been reaching agreements with at least one and seemingly several state funded ‘faith’ schools to allow them to black out exam questions on evolution, where such questions are deemed incompatible with the schools’ religious ethos.

The information came to light after Yesoday Hatorah Senior Girls School, a state-maintained Charedi Jewish secondary school in Hackney, was found last October to have blacked out a question on evolution in pupils’ GCSE science exams. An FOI request found the exam board in question, OCR, writing to Ofqual, the Office for Qualifications and Examinations Regulation: ‘In our deliberations we have reached the conclusion the most proportionate and reasonable approach would be to come to an agreement with the centres concerned which will protect the future integrity of our examinations– by stipulating how, when and where the redactions take place – but at the same time respect their need to do this in view of their religious beliefs. We believe we need to be mindful of the fact that if we do not come to an agreement with the centres we could be seen as creating a barrier to accessing the examinations for the candidates.’

Quite simply, if the school is not prepared to teach a valid scientific theory in its classes, it should be deemed a failure.

This is happening in England? Really?

RS

Blair started it - pandering to the faith heads in everything. The current shower are taking it to new depths.

Holy fuck!

It's fucking outrageous that schools can get away with this shit.

In response, all the non-faith schools should insist that their students be able to ignore any questions on Religious Education - or at least add in the acceptable answer of "Who cares, it's all a load of shite anyways."


(see how I employed British English there to lure in the UKers?)

Any school which refuses to teach science, or teaches about anti-science in a sympathetic way should lose their licence and be decommissioned. Schools should be in the education business, not the propaganda business.

It's insane how much of an issue this has been made into. I was never under the impression that the idea of evolution actually clashed too harshly with most ideas of religion. The catholic church doesn't even have an official position on the idea of biological evolution.

Is anyone here informed on when and how evolution came to be such a major issue in education for religious people? I'm under the impression that it has not always been such an issue.

The official catlicker position is that evolution occurs but, at some as yet unspecified point, humans are injected with a soul. This has been the position since the mid-90s, when the catechism was revised under JPII.

I feel like my credulity should be stretched but, frighteningly, it isn't. I fail to even be surprised at the degree of stupidity rampant in the world any more.

Deremensis wrote:It's insane how much of an issue this has been made into. I was never under the impression that the idea of evolution actually clashed too harshly with most ideas of religion. The catholic church doesn't even have an official position on the idea of biological evolution.

Is anyone here informed on when and how evolution came to be such a major issue in education for religious people? I'm under the impression that it has not always been such an issue.

Evolution is important-many important insights into disease and cancer involve taking an evolutionary perspective. But what is under threat here is not merely evolutionary theory [which is bad enough], but really all of science. Anything in science can be warped by these religious fanatics. And it is not just religious, woo in general is compromising public health as seen in the anti-vaccination movements.
it is difficult to see how any faith driven policy can be good for the general public, because it focusses on a minority. Religious involvement in the state also compromises religious diversity-the freedom of people to believe what they like, and not just what a dominating faith waants them to believe.

Darwinsbulldog wrote:
Evolution is important-many important insights into disease and cancer involve taking an evolutionary perspective. But what is under threat here is not merely evolutionary theory [which is bad enough], but really all of science. Anything in science can be warped by these religious fanatics. And it is not just religious, woo in general is compromising public health as seen in the anti-vaccination movements.
it is difficult to see how any faith driven policy can be good for the general public, because it focusses on a minority. Religious involvement in the state also compromises religious diversity-the freedom of people to believe what they like, and not just what a dominating faith waants them to believe.

I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I was saying that it's insane how much of an issue religious people have made evolution into. I was not saying that making an issue of them attacking science in school is insane - that is indeed a major issue that needs to be addressed.

What you have to remember, is that hardcore adherents to doctrine, regard anything that doesn't conform to their doctrine, as purportedly constituting a pestilence to be exterminated. Frequently, they regard human beings who don't conform to their doctrine in the same manner.

The trouble with religious fanatics, and their deranged opposition to evolution, really started to gather momentum way back in 1910 or thereabouts, with the publication of a doctrinal tract titled The Fundamentals. This collection of essays, effectively constitutes the foundation of modern Christian fundamentalism. Volume VIII is the troublesome one, containing ranting essays railing against evolutionary theory, because said theory happens not to genuflect before unsupported mythological assertions, particularly those contained in Genesis. Those essays were what led to the Scopes trial and all the other shenanigans we've seen in the USA.

However, the modern American corporate creationism movement (which is a corporate business - be under no illusions about this), gained a big morale boost when the arch-charlatan and professional liar for doctrine known as Henry Morris published a series of tacky little screeds, aimed at propping up the "global flood" fantasy. Whilst compiling these screeds, he also provided creationist fuckwits with what is, in effect, the "how to" manual for quote mining and other instances of discoursive duplicity. Morris, more than any other propagandist for doctrine in recent times, pushed in his turgid outpourings the idea that is best summed up as:

"If reality and doctrine differ, reality is wrong and doctrine is right"

which, in a nutshell, sums up creationism succinctly. It also happens to apply to a lot of other doctrines as well, particularly when adhered to by the sort of obsessives who develop wet dreams over arcane and convoluted exhortations to maintain ideological purity at all costs, but creationism is a particularly florid instance of this principle in action. Once you understand the underlying aetiology that affects doctrine centred world views of all species, you're in a position to deal with the efflorescent manifestation thereof known as creationism.

Basically, once the unsupported assertions of a doctrine are treated as purportedly constituting fact, regardless of what real world evidence might have to say on the matter, the adherent starts to partition the world into The TruthTM, which in the mind of the adherent is defined as "anything that conforms to doctrine", and LiesTM, defined in the mind of the adherent as "anything that doesn't conform to doctrine". Convinced of his own righteousness in pursuing the beloved doctrine, and the conniving to establish hegemony for the beloved doctrine by fair means or foul, the adherent applies the same partitioning to human beings, regarding those within the doctrinal pale as fellow members of the self-appointed "elect", and those outside the doctrinal pale either as dupes in need of "education", or enemies to be crushed. The adherent, once a doctrine takes hold of his mind, thus comes to regard any measures as "justified", if those measures are considered to advance the doctrine and its hegemony.

Furthermore, the adherent, instead of regarding the process of proper examination of assertions as legitimate, considers this to be a threat to the beloved doctrine, and seeks wherever possible to extirpate proper discourse, replacing it with synthetic apologetic elisions designed to foster unquestioning adherence to the beloved doctrine. Indeed, the idea of a world view not reliant upon doctrinal assertions treated as "axioms" about the world, is totally alien to such adherents, who see the quest for knowledge as nothing more than a battle of "competing doctrines", with the beloved doctrine being regarded unquestioningly as purportedly the "right" doctrine. Indeed, one of the more duplicitous tools deployed by doctrinal adherents, consists of misrepresenting proper discourse and its methods as purportedly constituting "another doctrine", one that is regarded by definition as "wrong", and to be destroyed on sight.

If you find this exposition scary, then good. You should do. Because it gives you a particularly chilling insight into the mindset involved, a mindset that regards anything that doesn't conform to its wishful thinking as a pestilence to be exterminated.

Evolution theory exposes the Eden fantasy as fantasy.

Without the Eden fantasy Adam and Co can't have been majiked into existence.

Without Adam and Co the fruit larceny episode can not have occurred.

Without the fruit larceny episode there is no reason for god to come to earth as himself and get himself nailed for the weekend for being an arsehole.

Without the nailing there is no reason for anyone to suck god's dick to get to climb the beanstalk after they die and eat majik beans for ever and ever.

Evolution exposes the entire edifice for the mythological bollocks it is. It undermines the entire narrative from the ground up.

hackenslash wrote:The official catlicker position is that evolution occurs but, at some as yet unspecified point, humans are injected with a soul. This has been the position since the mid-90s, when the catechism was revised under JPII.

In other words, they do not accept evolution. The RC position is dualist. Evolution is fine for the "meat", but not the "soul". In other words, a vitalist position --deux ex machina
We have no reason to believe the soul is portable, and every reason to believe that non-portable souls can be explained by science.

Jewish faith school allowed to redact questions on evolution - now all faith schools may be allowed to deny reality

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26437882

There is already a topic on this, and I'm missing the part where the government has "approved" this.

If it's not a Government funded school, then 'approval' doesn't come into it.

However, if it is Government funded....