Mouse believes that God created the world. He did that in some mysterious way, that we cannot explain, which triggered the events we understand as the "big bang", setting the laws of physics as we know them. Through processes well-documented by scientific inquiry, life began and evolved by natural selection over millions of years right up until today.

Right-thinking Christians are in the business of truth, and this means being supporters of science, not opponents. Christians through the centuries have been at the forefront of scientific discovery, and it is only a small fringe group which emerged very recently that has taken a distorted view of Biblical literalism. Biblical scholars down the ages have taught that the Bible contains poetry and allegory as well as history and biography.

Apparently this makes Mouse a creationist.

Mouse had thought that a creationist was someone who believed in the literal truth of the Biblical account of creation in the first verses of Genesis, who thought that the world and everything in it was created in its current form (ie with all life in its current evolutionary state), who believed that Darwinian evolution did not take place, but that God simply planted man on earth in our current form.

Mouse refers, of course, to the latest hysteria being whipped up by the British Humanist Association and their supporters in the Guardian over creationism in schools.

Certain groups appear to be determined to paint anyone who says "God made the world" as a creationist.

The Guardian headline tell us, "Education secretary backs three schools run by groups with creationist views, raising concerns about levels of scrutiny".

So exactly who are these schools and what do they believe about creation? A Church Mouse investigation can reveal:

1. Grindon Hall School – have a statement on their website on the issue, stating such anti-creationist views as: "We do not believe that the very plain evidence supporting a lengthy process of evolution needs to be challenged by Christians." And, "We do not share the rigid creationist's insistence on a literalistic interpretation of the first chapters of Genesis." It is clear from the statement that they share a view very much in line with Mouse's. The scientific explanations of the creation of the world and evolution of life are the best explanation we have. Yet, somehow God is behind this whole thing. However, even this is now said to be redundant by the school principal. Nevertheless, the BHA and others are taking elements of this statement out of context and claiming it shows they are really creationists after all, despite clearly accepting the scientific accounts of creation and evolution.

This is not a creationist school.

2. Sevenoaks Christian School - According to the BHA and the Guardian, they intend to teach creationism in RE lessons. Here's what they actually say on their website, "Christians believe that God made the world, loves the world and is pleased with his creation. In RE we plan to teach about this and our responsibility as stewards of this precious earth. The government has said that free schools cannot teach 'creationism' or 'intelligent design' in science lessons as an alternative to the theory of evolution and we are content to accept this." The BHA take this as evidence that they area really creationists and intend to teach creationism in RE. Mouse doesn't read it that way, but merely as a statement which all theists of all creeds would sign up to – that God created the world.

This is not a creationist school.

3. The third school is a bit of a mystery, as it does not yet exist. We have some information from the British Humanist Association, which is not exactly impartial on this issue, but some more information can be pieced together from local news and other snippets. A bid was turned down in February, perhaps in part (or even mainly) due to the fact that it was a bid by a school which wanted to teach creationism and was backed by a local church. As a result, they have now severed the link with the church, and whilst they intend to base the school on a Christian ethos, it will not have a faith designation. The Christian ethos they refer to is simply that of a commitment to discipline, respect, and general motherhood and apple pie. They have resubmitted a revised bid, which removed the idea of teaching creationism. However, the BHA and now the Guardian, are worried that this is all a smokescreen, and they will actually sneakily teach creationism after all. They claim that the school intends to teach creationism in RE. How and why, we do not know, and Mouse can find no evidence for this claim. It seems to be nothing more than the concern that since some people behind the school may be creationists themselves, they will want to teach it in the school. Even though they know they can't, and have had this reiterated by the Department for Education.

This is not a creationist school.

In other words, there are no creationist schools which have been approved by Michael Gove. Which somewhat contradicts the substance of the Guardian article, and a long-standing high-profile campaign by the British Humanist Association.

Their basic argument is that whilst schools are not allowed to teach creationism, they try to sneak it onto the curriculum by teaching in RE lessons that some believe it, and that they are one of the "some". It appears that this is not the case in these instances, and at least one school has been rejected who tried this approach.

So what is going on?

There is a confluence of two agendas here. One is the political agenda amongst those who wish to attack Michael Gove and his school reforms. The other is the secularist lobby, who wish to attack Christians in education. Alarmist news of loony creationists running state schools happily accommodates both agendas. It is worrying that this is increasingly taking grip on the public imagination, since it appears so out of kilter with the facts. Not only that, but it bears no relation to the much more important debate about how we stop our nation's children leaving school without being able to read and write properly, and stop Britain's seemingly inexorable slide down international educational league tables.

So Mouse says, let Christians stand up for truth. We stand against creationists. But also let's stand against this paranoid attack on Christians in education.

• This article was originally published on The Church Mouse blog and is republished here with permission