Title: Creationism and the First Amendment | National Center for Science Education
Headings: Creationism and the First Amendment
Creationism and the First Amendment
The Free Exercise Argument
The Creationism Is Science Argument
The Evolution Is Humanism Argument
The First Amendment and Science

Content: There is simply a situation where a student's beliefs clash with particular nonreligious subject matter. Without student
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complaint, no problem would exist. So in these cases, the solution is always to remove the student (in a manner that would spare the child from derision by his or her peers). This is sometimes how matters are handled when parents object to sex education. But even if these court rulings had supported Bird's reasoning, there is a more practical remedy than Bird's choice of either equal time for creationism or removal of all instruction in origins. Interestingly enough, Bird suggests this remedy himself. Since elimination of origins from the curriculum "would obstruct the state concern in presentation of the general theory," then interference of this type "might be minimized by elimination of instruction in a particular topic, the general theory, in only an alternate class. Another existing biology class might continue presentation of the general theory" (Y-article, p. 577, fn. 277). Each year a different biology teacher could be set aside to teach a biology class denuded of all references to origins.