Some Good News (for a Change)

In a victory for science and critical thinking, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that so-called "Intelligent Design" may not be taught alongside evolution in biology classes in Dover, PA.

The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled.

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"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote. "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

The board's attorneys said members sought to improve science education by exposing students to alternatives to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection causing gradual changes over time; intelligent-design proponents argue that it cannot fully explain the existence of complex life forms.

The plaintiffs argued that intelligent design amounted to a secular repackaging of creationism, which the courts have already ruled cannot be taught in public schools.

The fight to keep religious mumbo-jumbo out of science curricula certainly isn't over yet, but it's good to know that the side of logic and rationalism has persevered in this particular battle, at least.