c. 1999 Religion News Service

Kansas eliminates evolution from science curriculum

(RNS) The Kansas Board of Education has adopted new standards for teaching biology that critics say will virtually eliminate any consideration of evolution from the science curriculum in the state’s public schools.

Republican Gov. Bill Graves called the action by the Kansas Board of Education”a terrible, tragic, embarrassing solution to a problem that didn’t exist.” The action by the education board, on a 6-4 vote, is among the most far-reaching victories yet for the so-called creationist movement which rejects the scientific concept of evolution in favor of a biblical view of the world as only a few thousand years old, and which teaches that each species was created separately by a divine being.

Although the new standards adopted by Kansas do not prevent local school boards from teaching evolution, it will not be included in the state assessment tests that evaluate students’ performances in various grades and is likely to discourage school districts from spending time or money on the subject.

Equally, the Wednesday (Aug. 11) decision is likely to embolden some school districts to consider adopting creationist textbooks.

In taking the action, conservative board members said they wanted to make sure that schools teach”sound”science, arguing evolution, or natural selection, is a flawed theory that cannot be proven.

Kansas is only the most recent battleground in a war between creationists and biologists that has been going on for more than a decade following a Supreme Court ruling that public schools cannot teach creationism as a fact.

Alabama, New Mexico and Nebraska have made changes in their science teaching guidelines that challenge the pre-eminence of evolution by labeling it one possible explanation of the way the world works. Other states _ Texas, Ohio, Washington, New Hampshire and Tennessee _ have considered but rejected changes called for by creationists.

Educators, however, called the Kansas case significant because of the reach of the new curriculum.”The number of changes made, the thoroughness with which references to evolution are deleted or definitions changed, it’s more extensive than what we’ve seen before,”said Molleen Matsumura of the National Center for Science Education, The New York Times reported.

Committee hears Dell appeal on same-sex marriage case

(RNS) A United Methodist appeals committee is crafting a written decision regarding the suspension from the ministry of the Rev. Gregory Dell for being convicted in a church court of breaking church rules by conducting a same-sex union ceremony.

On Aug. 9, the eight-member committee on appeals of the United Methodist Church’s North Central Division, held a hearing at which Dell’s appeal of his conviction was heard, the United Methodist News Service reported.

Bill White Jr., the appeals committee legal counsel, said that any decision on the appeal will not be released for 30 to 60 days. During that period, White will draft a written document and circulate it among the eight members of the committee for comment.

Dell was found guilty by a 13-member jury, or trial court, of breaking church rules during a March trial. The jury said Dell should be suspended from his position as pastor of Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago until he signed a pledge to no longer perform same-sex unions or until the denomination no longer prohibited the action.

The ban on Methodist clerics conducting same-sex union ceremonies was adopted by the denomination’s 1996 General Conference, the church’s top decision-making body. Earlier this year, the church’s Judicial Council, its top court, ruled the 1996 ban had the effect of church law.

Dell has refused to sign the pledge promising not to conduct the union ceremonies. His suspension became effective July 5.

During the Aug. 9 hearing, the Rev. Larry Pickens, Dell’s attorney, asked the committee to reverse the trial’s March decision on the grounds that the weight of the evidence did not support the charge of disobedience.

Pickens also argued the penalty _ indefinite suspension _ was unconstitutional under church law.

But the Rev. Steve Williams, counsel for the church, said Dell did not deny performing the service and his”fair process rights were honored and protected.”If you prove the violation. you prove the disobedience,”he said.

Roman Catholic Hehir named to head Harvard Divinity School

(RNS) The Rev. Bryan Hehir has been appointed the new head of the Harvard Divinity School, the first Roman Catholic priest to lead the prestigious school.

Hehir, currently Professor of Practice in Religion at the school, has headed the institution on an interim basis since the resignation of Dean Ronald F. Thiemann for”conduct unbecoming”the head of the divinity school. School computer technicians found thousands of pornographic sites on his personal computer at his university residence after he requested technical assistance in transferring files.”Father Hehir is a man of exceptional intellect and incisiveness, and he possesses rare human and spiritual qualities that make him ideally suited for this important position,”said Harvard President Neil Rudenstine in announcing the appointment on Wednesday (Aug. 11).

Hehir will not be called dean of the school but instead will serve as chair of the divinity school executive committee to allow him to continue his role with Catholic Relief Services and his pastoral commitments as a priest.

The theologian is best known for his work with National Conference of Catholic Bishops where he was instrumental in drafting the bishops’ influential 1980s pastoral statements on nuclear weapons and economic policy.”I regard the appointment as a unique privilege and a major challenge,”Hehir said in a statement.”The privilege arises from the opportunity to lead a distinguished institution with a globally esteemed faculty, a superb staff, and a talented community of students.”The challenge ahead is to build upon the solid intellectual, administrative, and financial foundations established by Dean Thiemann,”he added.”In multiple ways, this is an open moment in our society and in the world for religious traditions and institutions to serve the human person and human family.”

Rhode Island Boy Scouts: `Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on gays

(RNS) A local Rhode Island chapter of the Boy Scouts of America has issued a statement acknowledging that a Scout can be a homosexual _ as long as he doesn’t advertise it.

The Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America, with approximately 20,000 Scouts, issued the statement in the wake of an incident involving a 16-year-old Eagle Scout who, when asked, said he was gay.

In the statement, the council said that while it did not accept”known or avowed homosexuals,”neither did it, as a matter of policy, inquire about sexual orientation.

In the specific case, the 16-year-old was allowed to remain a Scout.

Some critics of the Scouts said the move by the Rhode Island group, which appears to have the tacit backing of the national leadership, was a retreat from scouting’s hard-line opposition to homosexuality.”It sounds to me like the Boy Scouts are in retreat,”Mary Bonato, an attorney with the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders in Boston told the Associated Press.”They acknowledge the sexual orientation of their members is none of their business.” Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, compared the statement to the military’;s”don’t ask, don’t tell”policy on gays in the armed forces.”My understanding was that gays were not allowed in the Boy Scouts, but what they now seem to be saying is that they have a `don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, which is different,”Brown told The New York Times.”What has happened in this case is that a gay teen-ager has been allowed to remain in the Boy Scouts. And the Boy Scouts know he is gay.”

Judge rules corrections officials violated Bible readers’ rights

(RNS) A federal judge has ruled that the Minnesota Department of Corrections violated the constitutional rights of its employees when it disciplined them for reading Bibles during a training session on gays in the workplace.

Francis J. Manion, the attorney for the three employees, said U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery issued a decision Monday (Aug. 9) in Minneapolis saying that”freedom to read their Bibles as a form of protest is accorded added protection against the DOC’s asserted interests in an efficient workplace.” The judge also ordered department officials to withdraw written reprimands made in November 1997 against the staffers.

Manion is the senior Midwestern counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed the suit in April 1998 on behalf of Thomas Altman, Kristen Larson and Ken Yackly.”This is a major victory for the rights of religious believers who are singled out and punished for their religious beliefs,”Manion said in a statement.

The state corrections department, based in St. Paul, Minn., issued a statement Tuesday saying it was reviewing the court decision.”In this situation, the department issued discipline to staff for insubordination during a training session,”the department said.”The plaintiffs’ religious beliefs did not play a role in this decision. It is also important to clarify that the court did not address the appropriateness of the training required by the department.” But Manion argued that”there was never any reason for our clients to be forced to listen to state-sponsored indoctrination about the acceptability of the homosexual lifestyle.”The state of Minnesota actually punished these people for their silent, symbolic protest,”said Manion, whose public interest law firm was founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.”The punishment was truly outrageous.” Gaylord Entertainment expands with online operations

(RNS) Gaylord Entertainment Co. has expanded its holdings relating to Christian music by acquiring majority interests in two online operations.

The Nashville, Tenn., company has bought 51 percent of Musicforce.com for $15 million. A portion of the investment was used by Musicforce.com to acquire 100 percent of Lightsource.com from the KMA Companies.

Musicforce.com is an online e-commerce operation focusing on contemporary Christian music. Lightsource.com is a Christian content provider within the Yahoo! network.

The acquisitions form the base of GETdigitalmedia, a new division of Gaylord that will concentrate on the Internet.”Musicforce.com and Lightsource.com bring immediate Internet commerce and broadcasting capabilities to our new division, and we anticipate that the combined operations will generate revenues of approximately $20 million in the next year,”said Terry E. London, Gaylord’s president and chief executive officer.

Gaylord owns Word Entertainment and Z Music Television, both of which focus on contemporary Christian music. It also owns the Grand Ole Opry and the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.

Pope urges action to prevent atrocities during military conflicts

(RNS) Asserting that the provisions of the Geneva Conventions are”too often violated,”Pope John Paul II has called for a new international consensus to prevent wartime”atrocities and abuses.” John Paul, speaking at his weekly general audience Wednesday (Aug. 11) noted Thursday would be the 50th anniversary of the conventions adopted at the end of World War II to defend human dignity during armed conflicts.

The conventions call for humane treatment of the wounded, prisoners of war and soldiers who have surrendered. They prohibit hostage-taking, torture and executions without trial by a regularly constituted court.

The pope called the anniversary an occasion for the international community to re-examine the situation of”victims of the wars that still today bloody numerous states.” Vatican sources said he referred to conflicts in the Balkans, Africa, Colombia and the Indian subcontinent.”That minimum of protection of the dignity of every human being, guaranteed by international humanitarian law, is too often violated in the name of military or political exigencies which should never come before values of the human person,”he said.”We are aware today of the need to find a new consensus on humanitarian principles and to strengthen their foundations to prevent repeated atrocities and abuses,”John Paul said.

The pope said that in its”indispensable”teaching of respect for every human life, the church seeks to collaborate actively with all those who work to assure”respect for the dignity of and assistance to the suffering, whether civilians or military.” John Paul said he gives his blessing to all those who work to help”the many and innocent victims of conflicts, prisoners and civilians at the mercy of violence.”

Quote of the day: Timothy Crawford, Kentucky school district attorney

(RNS)”I do not believe posting the Ten Commandments is imposing anyone’s religious views because the kids are not tested on that, the kids are not required to look at it, and the kids are not required to read it, and they’re not held accountable for that knowledge.” _ Timothy Crawford, school district attorney for Jackson County, Ky., commenting on the mounting of small plaques containing the Ten Commandments in the five schools of the district. He was quoted by the Associated Press.

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