(via What’s new by Bob Park – Friday, August 25, 2006)
2. EVOLUTION: GUESS WHAT WAS MISSING FROM THE SMART-GRANT LIST?
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on Tuesday that the list of majors that qualify for Smart grants, prepared by the Department of Education, had a blank line. It turned out to be the line where Evolutionary Biology should have appeared. The Department says the exclusion was inadvertent. That’s possible, but it reminds us that evolution denial in America is not only widespread, it’s growing. According to a study by Jon Miller of Michigan State University in Lansing, acceptance of evolution by Americans declined from 45% in 1985 to 40% in 2005. Only Turkey and the Vatican trail the US. For example, intelligent design critic Rev. George Coyne was replaced as director of the Vatican Observatory (WN 18 Nov 05).