

The next intelligent design showdown will take place in Florida, where opposition is mounting to state -mandated emphasis on the importance of evolution to science education.

The controversy comes on the heels of a Texas education official's firing for forwarding an email critical of intelligent design, which holds that some phenomena are too complex to be explained except by Godly manufacture. In a landmark court case in 2005, intelligent design was officially designated as religion rather than science, but its proponents continue to fight.

In October, Florida proposed new standards for science education, designating evolution as something every student should understand. "Evolution is the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence. Organisms are classified based on their evolutionary history. Natural selection is the primary mechanism leading to evolutionary change," read the guidelines.

It was a big step forward: two years ago, when the Fordham Institute, an education think tank, gave Florida's science curriculum a grade of F, the standards didn't even mention evolution by name. But opposition is growing.

Just before Thanksgiving, four Polk County school board members said they don't support the new standards and think intelligent design ought to be taught as a valid alternative to evolution. Then state

Board of Education member Donna Callaway said she'd vote against the standards. Evolution "should not be taught to the exclusion of other theories of the origin of life," she told the Florida Baptist Witness

weekly newspaper, adding her hope that "there will be times of prayer throughout Christian homes and churches directed toward this issue." A few days ago, state representative Will Weatherford, a leading candidate to become Florida's House speaker in 2011, voiced opposition to evolution. "To show it from just one perspective and say this is more important or more accurate than the rest, I'm not so sure I'm in favor of that," he told the St. Petersburg Times.

The Board of Education will vote on the standards in February. In the meantime, the guidelines can be reviewed and graded here, and board members can be contacted here.

Should you happen to speak in favor of evolution and against intelligent design, you might want to pass along information about evolutionary theology – a theory that allows for both God and evolution.

Image: Doonesbury

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