That should come as no surprise.
The highly intelligent Richard Dawkins often makes decent points.
And I appreciate the fact that he doesn't pull punches.
The world could use more voices like his.
Indeed - that is what I like about him, he is a scientist .. with attitude, as you say, pulls no punches.
And in this example about teaching both evolution and creationism as having equal merit, in a classroom environment, he is spot on, once again.
Some pretty loud voices, esp in the US, lobby to have both taught, in state schools.
This would indeed be akin to teaching both that the Nazi holocaust happened and
didn't happen, underpinned by the idea that both arguements were equally valid, and it is just a matter of personal choice whether to believe or not.
That would be a worthless history lesson of course, since the two perspectives do not begin from an equal point (ie; there
is evidence that large scale executions took place).
By the same token, teaching creationism and evolution is likewise not taking two perspectives that are starting from the equal point (there
is evidence for the evolutionary process, none for a creator).
This is crucial, for this is what we are actually putting into the minds of young people, impressionable young peope, in what is meant to be an academic environment.
Over here in the UK, Catholics, Jews, and Muslims can all select from a range of state 'faith' schools, but I oppose those on the grounds that I believe them potentiallly divisive, after all,
do you not have a better hope of fostering relations, if the children learn together, and play together, at school? Notwithstanding, I do abhor state faith schools, not only on those grounds, but on the basis that I believe the state should have only a responsibility to provide an education, not to cater for the whims of a given religion, and build and staff their own exclusve school for them.
RC schools, here in Scotland, have been obligated to take in non RC's now for quite some years, and there are a fair % of pupils at 'Catholic' schools who are not RC.
AFAIK, the same thing does not seem to extend to state Islamic or Jewish schools, to the best of my knowledge, you must be a Muslim or Jew to get into those.
Like I say, I don't see why the state and tax payer should be obligated to actually pay for something over and beyond the typical education.
Home schooling is popular in the US - perhaps not a surprise that a high % of those home schooled have parents who are, what you might consider to be Christian fundies.
We have all seen the footage of them telling their kids that global warming is a myth, and taking them to 'science' museums, in which what looks like modern man and woman are standing next to a bloody dinosaur.
