Given the recent resurgence in the age-old debate between creationism and evolution, it was probably only a matter of time before it reached the University of California, and it did last week – in the form of a lawsuit.
On Thursday, Christian school administrators filed suit against the UC, claiming the UC discriminates against high schools that teach creationism.
As evidence, the suit, which was filed by the Association of Christian Schools International and Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, points to a UC admissions policy that refuses certification of high school science classes that use textbooks which challenge the theory of evolution. According to the Los Angeles Times, one lawyer for the plaintiffs goes so far as to say the UC’s policy poses a “threat” to all religions.
First of all, the UC (and, for that matter, this editorial board) is not necessarily disputing whether creationism should be taught in schools.
But it’s clear the UC is not “discriminating” against religion, and it certainly is not posing a threat to it. UC campuses have burgeoning communities of all faiths. UCLA has an interdepartmental program on the study of religion, including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. And the Bible is routinely taught in classes as a foundation of Western culture, history and literature.
Instead, the UC policy is effectively saying that students who are not taught what the vast majority of the scientific community accepts as true and uses in its research will simply not be able to compete with those who are.
In fact, administrators at Calvary Chapel might be doing a disservice to their students by trying to get them onto a UC campus without first ensuring they understand evolution and why it’s universally accepted. Because a student in any UCLA biology course without at least a basic understanding of the theory will have a hard time getting something out of the course, let alone passing it.
And along similar lines, any student who graduates from UCLA with a science degree and does not apply evolution to his or her way of thinking will be a step behind every other scientist in the world – and so will have more difficulty in contributing to scientific thought.
What it comes down to is a question of rights: just as certain schools – such as Calvary Chapel – have a right to teach from whatever curricula and textbooks they choose, so does the University of California have a right to set expectations of what its students should know before they set foot in its doors.
Ultimately, it is the duty of a school to ensure its students are prepared for the road ahead. Administrators at Calvary Chapel apparently believe they are best preparing their students by teaching them about the Book of Genesis and Adam and Eve. Meanwhile, UC administrators believe they best prepare their students by teaching them about vestigial limbs and Darwin’s cruise through the Galapagos.
Same pedagogical principal, different approach. That sort of difference might not be easy to settle, but regardless, it is not discrimination – and it should not be settled in a court of law.