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What's the matter with the United States?

By pharyngula on January 16, 2012.

This just isn't right. The United Kingdom is this small little country way off in Europe, and the United States is this giant powerful country, and they managed to put creationists in their place while we debate about electing them to the presidency. It makes no sense.

Leading scientists and naturalists, including Professor Richard Dawkins and Sir David Attenborough, are claiming a victory over the creationist movement after the government ratified measures that will bar anti-evolution groups from teaching creationism in science classes.

The Department for Education has revised its model funding agreement, allowing the education secretary to withdraw cash from schools that fail to meet strict criteria relating to what they teach. Under the new agreement, funding will be withdrawn for any free school that teaches what it claims are "evidence-based views or theories" that run "contrary to established scientific and/or historical evidence and explanations".

Which reminds me…where are the American Richard Dawkins and David Attenborough, huh? The world just isn't fair. On the basis of the population difference alone, we ought to have 10 Dawkins/Attenborough equivalents here.

You don't think…could there be a relationship between a compromised educational system and the shortage of outspoken advocates for science?

(Also on Ftb)

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creationism

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