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Old 25th October 2005, 06:32 AM   #171
tsg
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Originally Posted by Mojo View Post
OK. The plaintiffs in this case have demonstrated abundantly that ID is not good science (at least as far as most of us here are concerned). But I don't think that this is what they need to do in order to win the case. Is there anything in the US constitution that says that kids can't be taught nonsense?

I think, in fact, that what the plaintiifs need to demonstrate is that that ID is a religious idea. Have they done this?

Am I right in what I've said in this post?

I think we need a proper American lawyer here.

Brown, where are you?
IANAL, but in order to win, the plaintiffs have to show that teaching ID does constitute teaching religion. The plaintiff's strategy thus far is to show that ID is fundamentally the same as creationism which has already been determined is a violation of the First Amendment in Edwards v. Aguillard.

But, knowing this case will be appealed no matter which side wins, the plaintiffs are going beyond that to show that the Dover Board of Ed's actions violate the Lemon Test all on its own without relying Edwards v. Aguillard so they don't have to rely on a similarity to creationism in the appellate court. If the plaintiffs win on just the similarity to creationism, they could lose the appeal if the defendants can successfully argue that ID is not creationism.

The reason for showing that it is not science is two-fold: first, if there is no science, then there is nothing left but religion (it has already been established that ID is a philosophical/theological argument as well as a "scientific" one, so there is no false dilemma); second, if there is no science, there is no loss by not teaching it in a science class. The ID'ers have been trying to hint at their persecution in the scientific community simply for suggesting that evolution might be wrong, when, in fact, their rejection is due to their lack of science.
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