Science and Religion Today » Disputes

Christine Comer Loses Her Appeal

Heather Wax — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:29:15 +0000

As regular readers of this blog will remember, Christine Comer was forced to resign as the Texas Education Agency’s director of science curriculum back in 2007 when she forwarded an email announcing a lecture by Barbara Forrest promoting the teaching of evolution and criticizing “intelligent design.” The agency accused Comer of violating its policy requiring neutrality when talking about evolution and creationism.
In 2008, Comer filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the policy, but a federal judge dismissed the case. Comer then asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the decision. But late last week, it upheld the lower court’s decision, finding the agency’s policy is not unconstitutional.
As Judge Fortunato Benavides explains in the decision, posted by the NCSE:

Upon review of the record and applicable law, we cannot conclude that TEA’s neutrality policy has the “primary effect” of advancing religion. The fact that Comer and other TEA employees cannot speak out for or against possible subjects to be included in the curriculum—whether the considered subjects relate to the study of mathematics, Islamic art, creationism, chemistry, or the history of the Christian Crusades—their silence does not primarily advance religion, but rather, serves to preserve TEA’s administrative role in facilitating the curriculum review process for the Board.

Atheists in the Courtroom

Heather Wax — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:28:19 +0000

Psychologists Douglas Keene and Rita Handrich offer lawyers some tactics for dealing with jurors and clients who are atheists (click on image for larger view):

Eco-Activist: Philosophy Can Be Based on Science

Heather Wax — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:47:19 +0000

Tim Nicholson—whose deeply held belief in man-made climate change is akin to a philosophical belief and entitled to the same protection as a religious belief under employment equality laws, a British judge ruled—made an important point after leaving the hearing:

It’s a philosophical belief based on my moral and ethical values underpinned by scientific evidence and that’s the distinction [between it and a religious belief], I think. The moral and ethical values are similar to those that are promoted and adopted by many of the world’s religions, but one of the key differences, I think, is that mine is not a faith-based or spiritual-based belief; it is grounded in the overwhelming scientific evidence, and it’s the combination of that scientific evidence with the moral and ethical imperatives to do something about it that is distinct from a religion.

Christine Comer Appeals

Heather Wax — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:02:10 +0000

Christine Comer is appealing the dismissal of her case against the Texas Education Agency.
As you might remember, Comer was forced to resign as the agency’s director of science curriculum back in 2007 because she forwarded an email from the National Center for Science Education (a pro-evolution group) announcing that Barbara Forrest would be speaking in Austin about (and against) attempts to get “intelligent design” into science classes. The TEA says it has a policy that requires staff to be neutral when talking about evolution and creationism.
In 2008, Comer filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the policy, and in April, a federal judge dismissed the case. Now, Comer is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the decision.

Creationism Comment Violated Constitution

Heather Wax — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:19:00 +0000

A teenager in California has won his lawsuit against a public school teacher who called creationism “superstitious nonsense” during a classroom lecture. Chad Farnan sued Capistrano Valley High School history teacher James Corbett for that and other anti-religion comments he said made Christians in the class feel uncomfortable, disparaged their beliefs, and violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The clause, which prohibits the government from making laws that establish religion, has been interpreted as also prohibiting government employees from promoting or showing hostility toward religion.
While a federal judge agreed that Corbett’s comment about creationism was an “improper disapproval of religion” and violated the student’s constitutional rights, he felt differently about the rest of Corbett’s statements because they did not directly refer to religion or were made within the context of the class. Corbett had also said that religion is not “connected with morality,” there was as much evidence for creationism “as there is that there is a gigantic spaghetti monster living behind the moon who did it,” and that “when you put on your Jesus glasses, you can’t see the truth.”
The judge, James Selna, said his ruling “reflects the constitutionally permissible need for expansive discussion even if a given topic may be offensive to a particular religion,” but also “reflects that there are boundaries. … The ruling today protects Farnan, but also protects teachers like Corbett in carrying out their teaching duties.”
Farnan, who says he’s not seeking monetary damages, plans to ask the court to prohibit Corbett from making similar anti-Christian statements in the future. —Heather Wax

Texas Follow-Up

Heather Wax — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:24:00 +0000

The Institute for Creation Research has sued the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which denied the institute’s request for state certification that would allow it to offer an online master’s degree in science education. In the lawsuit, the ICR claims the decision violates its civil rights and that it was discriminated against because its program would be based on “creation science” rather than evolution.
When the board denied the school’s request last year, Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said the institute’s program wouldn’t prepare graduates to teach the state’s public school science standards, which include the study of evolution. —Heather Wax

Case Dismissed

Heather Wax — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:06:00 +0000

For months we’ve been following the case of Christine Comer, who filed a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency challenging the constitutionality of its policy that requires its staff to be neutral on the topics of evolution and creationism. The case was dismissed earlier this week when a federal judge ruled that the agency’s neutrality policy doesn’t violate the constitution.
Comer was asking the court to overturn the policy and require the agency to give her back her job: She was forced to resign as the agency’s director of science curriculum after she forwarded an email from the National Center for Science Education (a pro-evolution group) announcing that Barbara Forrest would be speaking in Austin about (and against) attempts to get “intelligent design” into science classes. Comer said she was just passing on information; the agency saw it as an endorsement and terminated her employment. —Heather Wax

Case Dismissed

Heather Wax — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:38:00 +0000

Jeanne Caldwell’s lawsuit against the Understanding Evolution Web site, a joint project of the University of California Museum of Paleontology and the National Center for Science Education, has been dismissed. A federal appeals court has upheld the lower court’s decision in the case, in which Caldwell challenged the constitutionality of the site, saying it violates the separation of church and state with statements made under the section “Misconception: ‘Evolution and religion are incompatible.’” The site explains that the “misconception that one always has to choose between science and religion is incorrect. Of course, some religious beliefs explicitly contradict science (e.g., the belief that the world and all life on it was created in six literal days); however, most religious groups have no conflict with the theory of evolution or other scientific findings. In fact, many religious people, including theologians, feel that a deeper understanding of nature actually enriches their faith.”
Caldwell argues that the site, which is supported by a federal grant, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment with government-endorsed religious messages. She uses the site, she says, to participate as an informed citizen in debates and decisions about science class materials (her kids attend California public schools), but the appeals court found “there is too slight a connection between Caldwell’s generalized grievance, and the government conduct about which she complains, to sustain her standing to proceed.” —Heather Wax

Out of Court

Heather Wax — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:25:00 +0000

Last September, Steve Bitterman was fired from Southwestern Community College in Iowa for telling his Western civilization class that the biblical story of Adam and Eve shouldn’t be taken literally—but rather as a meaningful story that should be read metaphorically and symbolically—and that they should question their religious beliefs. Some students complained. Now, he’s settled his wrongful termination claim against the college for 20,000 dollars, according to The Des Moines Register.
Bitterman says he’s satisfied with the settlement, but thinks “there’s still a political atmosphere that tends to suppress any unorthodox ways of thinking about history and philosophy. There’s been a battle between science and religion for a long time … I don’t see it changing a whole lot in the next century or two.” —Heather Wax

Headed to Court

Heather Wax — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Back in December, we told you about Christine Comer, who was forced to resign as the director of science curriculum for the Texas Education Agency after she forwarded an email message from the National Center for Science Education (a pro-evolution group) announcing that Barbara Forrest would be speaking in Austin about the “intelligent design” movement in a talk called “Inside Creationism’s Trojan Horse.” Comer said she was just passing on information; the agency saw it a bias endorsement and terminated her employment. Now, Comer has filed a lawsuit against the agency and Education Commissioner Robert Scott, saying that she was illegally fired and giving us a better and clearer look at the chain of events and the emails that were sent around.
In brief: Comer says she was fired because she wasn’t neutral on the topic of creationism, as the agency requires—a policy that is unconstitutional because it endorses religion, she says. She’s asking the court to overturn the policy, declare her firing unconstitutional, and require the agency to give her back her job. —Heather Wax