Should we teach both evolution and religion in school?

Topic Starter writes:How can we teach both evolution and religion in school when they seemingly conflict so much with one another? I found the video below on Derren Browns website today, and it pretty much shows the incorrect way to go about it, ie showing only only side of the spectrum.

Modulous writes:Yup. I was taught evolution and religion. I would have preferred better teaching of both, but it wasn't the end of the world.
Of course, we shouldn't teach evolution and pick an arbitrary unsupported set of religious creation stories and present them uncritically as if they had the same level of support as evolution...as in the video you showed.
The best way to teach religion is to simply teach people what different groups say they believe and what they do to express their beliefs. Instead of "God created the world in 6 days" you could start with "The Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christrianity and Islam believe that God created the world. Their creation story takes place over the course of 6 days although not all followers accept that this is a literal truth...tomorrow we will talk about the Sikhs beliefs about...
I have no objection to that. Indeed: I insist it be a mandatory part of any reasonable education.

Taq writes:We should teach science. I don't think anyone really disagrees. The theory of evolution is the most important theory in the field of biology, so it is important that it be taught. If students do want to pursue a career in the life sciences then they must have a basic understanding of the theory before going on to university.For religion, I think there is a way to approach the material that will benefit students. The best way to do this, IMHO, is to teach kids about other cultures and how religion plays a role in those cultures. Students could discuss how religion has helped to mold the political views of each culture, and how it relates to international relations. In today's world students should know the difference between Sunni's and Shi'a and how the friction between these sects has shaped the politics of the Middle East. I know from my college years that it is impossible to discuss the development of Western Civilization without discussing the emergence of Protestantism, Calvinism, etc. By incorporating religious education with history/civics I believe the material can be covered in an objective and informative manner.

jar writes:I believe that if we hope to ever get an educated citizenry we need to teach evolution (a science subject) and also teach about religion (a social studies or sacred studies subject).As I ask in the thread about Should Sacred Studies be part of a general public school curricula, "Should Sacred Studies, the study of religions, their history, their effects on society, the basic tenets of each and inter-relationships be taught as part of the general public education in the US"?My answer is "most certainly."We cannot ignore the effects that religion has had on the world and all of us living through those effects. Kids should learn that the Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same God, the basic tenets of the Eight Fold Path, the writings of Confucius and Mencius, what Taoism says, the Vedas, Greek, Roman, Germanic and Norse mythology.Kids should understand the horrific acts done in the name of religion, particularly the Genocide carried out by Christianity.

RAZD, replying to a creationist writes:Curiously this bald opinion has absolutely no effect on reality.I'll bet you can't define evolution properly -- care to try and prove me wrong?One should know what they are talking about before mocking it. And the teaching of science is based on real objective empirical evidence, repeated experiments and observations, and historical accumulation of knowledge validated by the scientific method.How do you determine what is "true evidence" and what makes it "true" as opposed to just being (real objective empirical) evidence? What is your paradigm for sorting truth from fiction and fantasy and ignorance? Can you define the difference between a scientific theory and a hypothetical conjecture?Should every mythology be taught as theory?Enjoy

That is why the dull delusional foolishness of majikal religious thinking must be exorcised like the demon it is from the public schools. The lie that is religion does nothing but poison young minds. Only the truth of science can prevail against the tide of evil that religion has used to shackle the human mind for millennia.Be gone religion! Be gone unclean spirit!
Leave this school in the name of the Real, the Evidenced and the Laws of Physics! The Power of Science Compels You!
The Power of Science Compels You!
The Power of Science Compels You!

dad writes:What can be taught is how bacteria or whatever now adapt and evolve. To teach more IS religion.