Weird Science

President Bush's Support For Teaching 'Intelligent Design' In Public Schools Adds To Growing Controversy Over Science Instruction In Public Schools

President George W. Bush probably thought his recent remarks backing "intelligent design" in public schools were not controversial and would be forgotten the next day - but then a firestorm of sorts erupted.

In an Aug. 1 interview with a group of reporters at the White House, Bush was asked whether he believed intelligent design (ID) - the latest variant of crcationism - should be taught in the nation's public schools.

"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Bush said. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes."

That interview, given before Bush retreated to his beloved Texas ranch for a five-week escape from Washington, sparked a national debate over religion's place in the public schools and drew worldwide media attention.

Religious Right leaders and lobbyists greeted Bush's comments with glee.

For decades, Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America have sought ways to undermine the teaching of evolution in the public schools and to bring back school-sanctioned religious activity into the classrooms. ID, which challenges evolution and rests on the belief that an "intelligent designer" was behind the creation of life, is one such method used by Religious Right groups to advance their religious views through government action.

Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told The New York Times that what Bush said is "what I've been pushing, it's what a lot of us have been pushing." He added that "if you're going to teach the Darwinian theory as evolution, teach it as theory. And then teach another theory that has the most support among scientists."

The Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based ID promotional group, was also quick to celebrate the president's comments. John G. West, an associate director at the Institute, said in a written statement that Bush should be "commended for defending free speech on evolution, and supporting the right of students to hear about different scientific views about evolution."

Gary Bauer, head of American Values and a prominent Religious Right pundit, told The Washington Post that Bush's "endorsing" of ID would help bring more respect to its supporters.

"It's not some backwater view," Bauer said of ID. "It's a view held by the majority of Americans."

Beyond scoring points with an important base, Bush's comments are likely to fuel the Religious Right drive to undermine the teaching of evolution in public schools.

So it was no surprise that the president's comments drew outrage from scientists and public interest groups, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and produced some discomfort within the White House.

Bush's science adviser John H. Marburgcr III said the president's comments had been misinterpreted. Marburger told the Times that "evolution is the cornerstone of biology" and "intelligent design is not a scientific concept."

The editorial page of The Washington Post also criticized Bush for his comments, noting on Aug. 4 that ID lobbyists "want their theory to be accepted as science and to be taught in ninth-grade biology classes, alongside the theory of evolution. For that, there is no basis whatsoever: The nature of the 'evidence' for the theory of evolution is so overwhelming, and so powerful, that it informs all of modem biology. To pretend that the existence of evolulion is somehow still an open question, or that it is one of several equally valid theories, is to misunderstand the intellectual and scientific history of the past century."

Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lytm told The Post that Bush's comments on ID were "irresponsible."

"The young people of America are ill served by a president who confuses religion with science," Lynn said. "Bush has used his presidential pulpit to advance the ludicrous notion that evolution is in controversy and that 'intelligent design' is legitimate science."

Bush, a Yale graduate who attended business school at Harvard, received a sharp broadside from Rep. Barney Frank (D- Mass.), who told the Post that, "People might cite George Bush as proof that you can be totally impervious to the effects of Harvard and Yale education."

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE), a California-based group, which tracks efforts to undermine the teaching of evolution, said it was most troubling that the president suggested "both sides" should be taught in the public schools.

Susan Spath, of the NCSE, said that ID is essentially creationism, a religious belief, not science.

"It is not fair to privilege one religious viewpoint by calling it the other side of evolution" she said.

Discussion of ID has been floating in the White House for some time, according to evangelical prison ministiy leader and former Watergate convict Chuck Colson. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, told The New York Times that ID was the center of a weekly White House Bible study class several years ago. Colson, as the Times notes, features Michael Gerson, a speech writer and top policy adviser to Bush, in a chapter on ID in his 2005 book, The Good Life.