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Should creationism be taught in schools?
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Creationism should be taught as part of philosophy or religion courses

While it is not fitting for creationism to be taught along scientific fact, it should be taught in a philosophy or religion course.
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The Argument

While creationism should not be taught as a science, that does not mean that it should not be taught at all. Every culture has its creation myths that ancient people used to explain how the world came to be. Most are about how darkness became light and nothing became something and arose from a reflection on the nature of life and existence.[1][2] In the Bible, a story believed by the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, it is God who creates the world over a period of six days; in the Navajo tradition, creation is thought of as a sequence where worlds emerge from other worlds; in Māori legend Ranginui the sky father and Papatūānuku the earth mother create the world. Philosopher Daniel Dennett[3] proposes requiring all children to take a world religions class at a young age, in which they are taught the facts of all major world religions. And, as long as children are informed of other religions, they can be taught whatever creed their parents and mentors believe they should learn.

Counter arguments

The creation story is true and should be taught as scientific fact in science class.

Premises

[P1] All cultures and religions have creation stories. [P2]These are informative and learning about them helps children learn about their world and other cultures.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Only the Christian creation story is true.

References

  1. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/creationism/
  2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/creationism_1.shtml
  3. https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_s_response_to_rick_warren/transcript?language=en#t-403812
This page was last edited on Friday, 17 Apr 2020 at 11:08 UTC

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