British Centre for Science Education

The British Centre for Science Education (BCSE) is a volunteer-run organization in the United Kingdom that has the goal of "countering creationism within the UK"[1] and was formed to campaign against the teaching of creationism in schools.[2][3]

Contents

Activities

The BCSE has been operating since the summer of 2006. Its appearance was noted by the American National Center for Science Education in a news article on November 2, 2006.[4]

The BCSE protested when the prominent intelligent design group Truth in Science sent information packs to every UK secondary school in September, 2006.[2] BCSE estimated that TiS had, at that point, spent around £116,000, including employment of a full-time administrator.[5] In a letter to the editor, published in the Financial Times, Ian Lowe of BCSE expressed concern that creationism could possibly flourish even in Britain[6]; while Mike Brass, then chairman of BCSE, said in a letter to The Guardian, "intelligent design (ID) is creationism dressed up in a tux to sneak into our science classrooms."[7] They were even mentioned in an "Early Daily Motion" in Parliament introduced by MP Graham Stringer.[8]

The BCSE features a website on which it tracks leading creationists and creationist organizations, particularly those active in the United Kingdom. Short descriptive articles appear on each. Essays, news and reports of pro-evolution government lobbying are also featured on the website.

Criticism and controversy

The appearance of the BCSE has been met with hostility by the main promoter of intelligent design, the Discovery Institute. In particular, Discovery Institute fellow William Dembski has written disparagingly of the BCSE on his blog, "Uncommon Descent".[9] A website was started to specifically attack the credibility of the BCSE, called BCSE Revealed. [10] In turn BCSE devoted a page to responding to David Anderson and his criticisms. [11] Also, the Discovery Institute website's news feature, Evolution News and Views suggests that the BCSE is closely associated with the National Center for Science Education and the British Humanist Association [12][13]

References

  1. ^ According to the logo on the website of the BCSE.
  2. ^ a b Graebsch, Almut; Schiermeier, Quirin (23 November 2006). "Anti-evolutionists raise their profile in Europe". Nature 444 (7118): 406–407. doi:10.1038/444406a. PMID 17122815. 
  3. ^ The dangers of creationism in education, Report, Committee on Culture, Science and Education, Rapporteur: Mr Guy LENGAGNE, France, Socialist Group, Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, Doc. 11297, 8 June 2007. Para. 69
  4. ^ Creationism news from around the world, National Center for Science Education, November 2, 2006.
  5. ^ Randerson, James (27 November 2006). "Who are Truth in Science?". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1958148,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28. 
  6. ^ Lowe, Ian (21 October 2006). "Creationism has no place in classrooms". Letter to the Editor (Financial Times). http://www.ft.com/cms/s/33e9de02-60a1-11db-a716-0000779e2340.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28. 
  7. ^ Brass, Mike (19 December 2006). "Creationism in the classroom". The Guardian. http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,1975176,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28. 
  8. ^ SCIENCE EDUCATION, Graham Stringer, Member of Parliament, Early Day Motion 2708, 11.10.2006
  9. ^ The British Centre for Science Education unmasked, William Dembski, Uncommon Descent Blog, 23 October 2006.
  10. ^ BCSE Revealed
  11. ^ BCSE Revealed, Revealed
  12. ^ British Press Engages in Selective Motive Mongering, Casey Luskin, Evolution News and Views, Discovery Institute, October 28, 2006.
  13. ^ Who is writing anti-ID articles in the UK?, Casey Luskin, Evolution News and Views, Discovery Institute, November 4, 2006.

External links