Perchance

Anti-Creedance Front,

I'm not sure what you mean by "outside a public place." In my dorm room?

Mark_Chid:

I think the connection is not so much Darwin= atheism for some people, but Darwin= evolution= atheism. I've run into a few people down here who believe that anyone who accepts evolution must be an atheist; I lost a friend over it, when she couldn't accept that I thought evolution was the best explanation for the changes in species.

Maybe a sign of this type would be quieter and less confrontational than others would, though.

-Perchance.

Anti-Creedance Front

Actually, I meant just not in an institution that could get you fired for it. Do it in a park, or some other public place, but not at school, where your job is at stake.

Zachar

I thought the idea of neutrality regarding religion in elementary/secondary schools stemmed mostly from the fact that students there are a captive audience; they are required by law to be there. To me, since attending college isn't required by law, the faculty has more leeway in that area than elementary/high school faculty would. After all, if something done by the college so grossly offends you, you don't have to be there.

Obviously, the government sponsorship of religion argument still applies (as well as pressuring students to believe like you do or risk bad grades), but the main concern is to prevent forced/unwanted indoctrination by the majority. I don't see college students going along with indoctrination that they don't believe in.

Is this not an accurate perception?

[ September 12, 2002: Message edited by: Zachar ]</p>

Perchance

Shoot, I thought my post probably didn't get through. Here it is again:

Anti-Creedance Front,

Thank you for clarifying. I'm trying to find out indirectly (without naming why I'm asking) just how much tolerance is extended to that kind of thing at my school.

Zachar,

I think your idea of policy is very sensible- so sensible, it's probably not in force at my school. I don't plan to indoctrinate my students into anything, other than (hopefully) good writing. But it would be nice to do something about this outside class time, since my conscience has decided to bother me about it.

-Perchance.

4th Generation Atheist

Perchance, so far as postings in the office go, discussions with the fundie or others sharing that office would probably be your main concern. If you think discussion would be tense, causing you or the fundie to have difficulty focusing on work, then don't post anything. Same goes if you think you'd have any tense discussions with visiting students. However, if your suspicion is that discussion would be stimulating, enlivening the atmosphere of the workplace, then go for it! A campus is, after all, supposed to be a free gathering place for people and ideas.

You'd probably have to make a prior agreement with your sparring partner to limit discussion to times when there weren't students in the room, when neither of you was trying to get any "real" work done, and when both of you would be able to break it off immediately when interrupted by more pressing matters. But that should be true anywhere.

galiel

YES! IN fact, hesitating about this is merely falling into the fundie's trap. Darwin was one of the definitive scientific minds of all time, and his work serves as the foundation for much of modern science--not just biology, but nearly all fields of science.

You might as well question whether a Gallileo Day would be controversial because flat-earthers and geocentrics still find his ideas heretical. Just because the evolution-denier wackos are better funded and use pseudoscientific terms to hide their nonsense doesn't mean we have to play their game.

I suppose we shouldn't celebrate Clarence Darrow because it might offend the fundies as well. For that matter, where do we get off honoring Lincon? The South has never forgiven him...

I know you are not advocating any of the above, Perchance. I merely caution against letting the PC movement cloud your judgement.

An institute of learning should not be about avoiding offense or controversy. It should be about the promotion of knowledge.

Darwin Day, I say!

Perchance

Fourth Generation,

I think it would stimulate discussion; I may wait until I'm a little more settled in my office, though, just in case someone trusts me more in a few weeks than they do now and wants to confide how Jesus saved her soul .

Galiel,

Perhaps Darwin Day wouldn't be seen as ultimately connected to atheism, then. I'm not saying that it is, but people's perceptions of it are one thing and the reality another. At least it would encourage people to think about evolution, beyond the usual religious context.

I have a few months to get ready, since Darwin Day's Feb. 12. I may even find a person who would help me put up a few signs.

Thanks for the advice.

-Perchance.

4th Generation Atheist

Good plan. Where work is concerned, you definitely want to get the lay of the land first.

PopeInTheWoods

Your Mileage May Vary

Hail_Isis

If you impose atheist beliefs on a class, it's the same as imposing religious beliefs on a class. Like was said "Darwin Day" probably doesn't fit into that category unless you were outright telling people that creation is not true when they believe in creation.