A Victory for Science and Education in Dover
Brown University professor Kenneth Miller testifies on 9/27/05 in Kitzmiller v Dover School District on the question of whether ID is a religious belief or a scientific theory.
Courtroom Drawing © Art Lien
December 21, 2005:
Judge John E. Jones' decision in the Dover, Pennsylvania intelligent design (ID) case (Kitzmiller et al vs. Dover Area School District) is a great victory for science, science education, and for freedom of religion.
Judge Jones clearly grasped the weight of scientific evidence behind evolution, and properly pointed out that it serves as the central organizing principle of the biological sciences. The trial was especially significant because it afforded the proponents of ID, including such prominent advocates as Michael Behe and Scott Minnich, the opportunity to present a scientific case for ID over several days of wide-open testimony. What took place, as the trial record makes clear, is that the pseudo-scientific claims of ID collapsed upon inspection. A series of expert witnesses for the parents who objected to the district's ID policy were able to demonstrate conclusively that ID is not science. They further showed that ID has no factual grounding, and that it represents a thinly-veiled attempt to insert a religious doctrine into schools under the guise of science.
As an expert witness for the plaintiffs, I was pleased to take the stand on the opening days of the trial in defense of the scientific integrity of evolution, and I am delighted with the verdict. Placing science and religion in opposition to each other, as a mandate to teach ID inevitably would, dishonors both science and religion, and would require young people to make the false choice of rejecting their faith to accept science, or turning their backs on modern science to maintain their faith. Everyone who cherishes religious freedom in America has reason to give thanks for this decision, and to applaud the courageous parents and teachers of Dover who took a stand for educational and religious freedom in their community.
Kenneth
R. Miller
Professor of Biology
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912