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Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

The National Centre for Science Education is an organisation set up to defend the teaching of education in public schools in the USA.  It has attracted a lot of attention because of its involvement in legal issues about science teaching, and controversies about the way that its material implies that the compatibility of science and religion should be actively promoted.  The consensus seems to be that the NCSE is doing good work, but with some debate over its approach.

I am going to propose a different point of view.  What the NCSE is doing is a waste of resources, and may even be actively problematic for the teaching of science and reason.  I have come to this conclusion after reading an excellent post by Russell Blackford about the rather astonishing alliance between the NCSE and the Catholic Church.  What is the point of concentrating on the specific issue of evolution when you are sharing a platform with an organisation that is fundamentally anti-science?  That may be a harsh statement to make, but I believe it is justified.  The Catholic Church doesn't just deal with supposed historical supernaturalism.  It is actively promoting people to sainthood based on reports of recent miracles; it insists that some humans are walking around right now with magic powers. The Church also interferes in matters of science, campaigning against stem cell research, and producing misleading propaganda about the effectiveness of condoms.  The doctrine of the Catholic Church limits the use of reason, claiming that science and reason can only go so far, with revealed spiritual wisdom being more powerful.  What the Catholic Church is after is tamed science and reason, kept within limits, willing to lie down and roll over when the Vatican says so.  That is not the way that science should be taught, and to ally with such an organisation makes a worrying political statement about education.

The other reason I wonder what the point of the NCSE is is because have what seems to be an odd confession to make.  I was never taught evolution at school.  Not directly.  It was pointed out that some organisms were simpler and "more primitive" than others, and the fact of evolution was so obvious that it didn't need to be a subject in its own right.  What I was taught was a scientific way to think, and how to investigate based on reasoning and experimentation.  This meant that evolution, when I found out about it, was an obvious concept, and not something I needed specifically justified.

Why choose a specific battleground between science and religion and struggle furiously (showing little progress) to win that territory while conceding ground to religion on other matters of reason?  Does there even have to be a fight in that area?  What does it achieve?  Perhaps this is picking an unnecessary fight that Creationists want.


Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

Hi Steve, how goes it?

 Both you and Russell make some good points. I'm an Aussie, so I have no say in the matter. I also think that the policy of the NCSE does play into the hands of the religious.

Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

Having said that, if NCSE goes away, who will defend evolution? What would have become of the Dover trial if not for NCSE? If evolution is supplanted by superstition, will we have not only lost the battle but the war too?

Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

I'm having trouble with your blog software. It gave me an error when I submitted my earlier comment and only posted the last paragraph. Let me try again... This is a case of winning the battle and losing the war. NCSE is solely committed to defending evolution, not all of science. They see partnering with religious institutions that accept evolution as a winning strategy. It may very well be in the case of evolution. In return, NCSE tacitly if explicitly accepts a quasi-NOMA. But, science and religion are utterly and completely incompatible. Giving an inch in an attempt to defend evolution undermines the rest of science. Having said that, if NCSE goes away, who will defend evolution? What would have become of the Dover trial if not for NCSE? If evolution is supplanted by superstition, will we have not only lost the battle but the war too?

Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

Hi Scot.  I'm thinking of possibly moving to new blog software.  Have been playing around with this one for months.  I may end up on Blogger like everyone else!

I do wonder what actually would have happened if the Dover trial had been lost.  I'm beginning to think not much.  Whereas the campaign to win it involved a lot of accommodation with religion.

I could be utterly wrong here, but I really do wonder if the supposed good that the NCSE does outweighs the harm.

Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

Well I actually think that if Dover had gone the other way, the flood gates would have been opened. (And I may have had to move to Canada to escape the United States of Nutjobs). However, NCSE almost certainly could have contributed to the case with the same level of effect without having to sleep with the Catholic church. Doest the church really bring that much to the table? I think not.

Re: Is the NCSE a waste of resources?

Great post. I hadn't been aware of the connection with the Catholic Church until recently, and, as you point out, it's really ludicrous for a science organization to make such an affiliation.

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