Д Area: Atheist & State/Church seperation Info ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД
Msg#: 120 Date: 10-13-96 06:52
From: Christopher Baker Read: Yes Replied: No
To: All Mark:
Subj: AANEWS #173 Part 2 of 2
ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД
[part 2 of 2]

THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS

Chalk up a temporary victory for the Roman Catholic Church in
Poland; last week, the nation's upper house of Parliament rejected an
attempt to liberalize strict anti-abortion legislation in a heated 52-
40 vote. Outside, the Church and its subsidiary Polish Peasants Party
rallied 10,000 anti-choice activists who prayed and sang religious
songs.
The proposed new law would have allowed women to terminate
pregnancy up to the 12th week if they could show they were in a
"difficult" social or financial situation.
In January, 1993, a church-dominated parliament under the control
of the old Solidarity trade union enacted stiff anti-abortion
measures. The procedure was allowed only if pregnancy endangered the
health or life of the woman, or was the result of incest. Otherwise,
doctors performing an abortion faced prison sentences.
The new legislation would have loosened those restrictions, and
permitted private clinics to provide abortion services.

We receive a steady flow of press clippings and other reports from
across the country about local attempts to bully school boards into
permitting so-called "creationism" into science classrooms.
Creationism is the doctrine that the universe and life was conjured by
a god as described in the biblical account found in Genesis. Though
most of the major Christian denominations have made peace with the
scientific evidence of evolution, many fundamentalist groups insist
that since the bible must be considered literally true, the Genesis
tale requires "instant creation" of even developed life forms, and a
relatively young earth -- somewhere on the order of 6,000 years or so.
Creationists have peppered their old religious doctrines with a
combination of scientific misinformation, appeals to tolerance and
fair play, and a distorted, limited notion of intellectual skepticism.
They maintain, for instance, that evolution is "just a theory" which
has serious flaws; they also insist that their viewpoint is a
legitimate scientific position which is entitled to "equal time" in
the classroom, and they maintain frequently that "students have a
right to hear all sides" in any controversy.
But creationism is hardly a legitimate theory; it ignores the vast
and still-growing body of evidence in support of evolution, a body of
evidence that is cramping museums and artifact collections. Besides,
most creationist "evidence" (such as human "footprints" said to have
been co-existent with tracks from dinosaurs) has been exposed as
either untrue or highly suspect. And what's the evidence FOR
evolution? It is found in that growing body of evidence, hanging on
the walls of natural history museums, in display cabinets, and, yes,
in fossil vaults so heavy that the supporting beams underneath are
beginning to sag. Evolution is a fact, although the minutia of how
precisely it operates continues to be the subject of spirited and
enthused scientific debate.
Unfortunately, most scientists have tended to regard creationism as
a crank movement, and seriously underestimated its organizational
vigor and cultural impact. The surprisingly wide acceptance of
creationist foolery is part of a larger anti-science bias emerging in
the society. Couple biblical literalism with credulous belief in new
age pseudo-science, lack of emphasis in schools on science, a
widespread lack of critical thinking in media and other institutions,
and one has a formula for potential social disintegration.
The recent Bullet Poll which sampled 500 adults in the New York
area, for instance, surveyed attitudes about creationism. A mere 19%
thought that evolution alone should be taught to students in the
public schools: 30% chose creationism. And around 50% of respondents
called for teaching evolution and creationism -- an answer in the
Bullet Poll described as "both theories", as if the two were
intellectually equivalent.
Admittedly, some segment of the 50% group no doubt accepts the
notion that creationism deserves "equal time" in classes, even if it
is wrong. But does this make sense? For instance, why teach just the
Christian version of the creation myth; how about Aztec accounts, or
stories from African or middle eastern cultures? Is anyone proposing,
for instance, that Babylonian stories of how the world was fashioned
be given "equal time" in science classrooms? We hope not.
Unfortunately, most of the "equal time" block do not understand that
creationism has nothing to do with a fair exchange of differing views;
it is all about religious indoctrination.
Perhaps creationism belongs in schools, but only in a class dealing
with comparative religions and beliefs systems. But is this possible
today? Would Christian fundamentalists, for instance, really want
their offspring being told that their religion is rejected by most of
the world's religious believers, and that in terms of age it is,
relatively speaking, the new kid on the block? Would they really
encourage their children to examine alternative belief systems? Or,
worse yet, question the notion of "belief" itself? We think not.
In the meantime, teachers and school boards who stand up to
creationist bullying deserve our support. Religious belief of any kind
has no place in the science classroom.

***

What unites many Muslim nations, Christian fundamentalists and even
Afrocentrist pseudo-historians?
Most, if not all, remain silent on the outrage of ritual genital
mutilation of girls, a problem rampant throughout the African
continent. The custom remains firmly rooted in age old tribal
religious superstition, and represents perhaps the apotheosis of male
domination and control over women. The practice is "woven into the
everyday life" of hundreds of ethnic groups in a wide band of 28
countries throughout Africa; there are even indications that the
ritual has spread to the United States, a residue among certain
immigrant groups of customs and taboos better left back home..
On Saturday, a special report in the New York Times discussed
genital mutilation, and noted that in countries like the Ivory Coast
and Central African Republic, up to 40% of females have been
mutilated. Even some women consider the practice to be desirable,
especially since often only a "circumcised" woman is eligible for
marriage. And change about the deeply ingrained practice is slow;
village chiefs, family elders, unwilling families often stand in the
way.
Afrocentrists who promote a bogus view of historical events may be
displeased to know that this mutilation custom pre-dates the incursion
of either Christian or Islamic doctrines; in addition, "the practice
knows no class or religious boundaries." Today it is practiced with
equal zeal on the continent by Muslims and Christians, and followers
of more traditional African religions.
"The practice is more widespread among the illiterate, but it is
also common among the educated."
There may well be merit to the argument that in the this method of
controlling female anatomy is, while painful and direct, more honest
than the sneakier efforts which characterize western culture. The
demand that women conceal (or, at other times, emphasize) a portion of
their anatomy still resonates today in cultures permeated by religious
superstition. The Taliban demands women be, essentially, encased in
clothing from head to foot. In the United States, admittedly more
enlightened and progressive, bluenoses will occasionally take up their
battle cry and hatchets against thong bikinis or other "immodest" or
"provocative" garb. (Ever notice how they don't say anything about
beer bellies?) From coast to coast, whether it's the Million Man March
or a rally of Promise Keepers, the agenda of the day seems to be
making sure that women know their place, and damn well stay there.
But we digress...
The Fourth World Conference on Women held last year in Beijing was
a major focus for anti-abortion groups, especially religious movements
based in the United States. We didn't hear them crying out against
the injustice of female genital mutilation. But Hillary Clinton (a
favorite bugaboo on the "700 Club") rightfully called the practice a
human rights violation where "young girls are brutalized by the
painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation."

About This List...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide
movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair for the advancement of
Atheism, and the total, absolute separation of government and
religion. For information about American Atheists, send mail to
info@atheists.org, and include your name and postal address. Or,
check out our cool new web site at http://www.atheists.org.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch, provided that
appropriate credit is given to aanews and American Atheists. For
subscribe/unsubscribe information, send mail to aanews-
request@listserv.atheists.org and put "info aanews" (minus the
quotation marks, please) in the message body. Edited and written by
Conrad F. Goeringer, The LISTMASTER (cg@atheists.org). Internet
Representative for American Atheists is Margie Wait, irep@atheists.org

[end part 2 of 2]

-!- DB B2300sl/001027
! Origin: Rights On!-Host/Moderator of A_THEIST-Edgewater_FL_USA (1:18/14)