Is creationism a predominantly US phenomenon?

I can't say I've seen much of a creationist presence in Australia myself, at least as far as the school system is concerned. But neither can I say that I recall there being any coverage of evolution when I was in school (either primary or high). We did some hereditary biology but never really moved beyond concepts like dominant and recessive genes. We certainly never touched species' relationships or descent with modification.Do you (or anyone else) know if there has ever been any pressure on the school boards here to avoid the subject? Or any effort to get a foothold in the political system, as in the US? If this kind of thing does happen here, it mustn't be well-publicized because I can't say I've ever seen it.

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My personal belief is that this has happened because fundamentalism, regardless of the religion it is being employed by, is a modern kind of ideology. I think this is a result, directly or indirectly, of the effects that modern technology and scientific understanding have had on culture. Thats just a little pet idea without much meat on its bones though.

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Combine the ignorance you describe with a lot of economic and social injustice and liberal dollops of fear, shake well, and voila!You've just made Fundamentalism!

Hi, Tone, saw a special on the Assemblies of God`s Family First party that did well at the last election. The election patter went well till one member let the cat out of the bag with 'Burn lesbian witches at the stake'. Might be an isolated case. Might be a momentary aberration, but I for one will be keeping an eye on them

Family First is affiliated with the Assemblies of God? Oh man. Now I'm worried. Perhaps but I can't say I'm optimistic. So will I...now. With the name "Family First" I already had my suspicions about them, but I never...well...from one Aussie to another, "Not...happy...Jan."

I've not heard of anything ever happening here with regard to education, thank god. Lets hope it never rears its unattractive head!For the record, when I was at high school we did cover the basics of evolution. This was back in the mid/late 80's, and at a public school. All I remember was looking at Lamarcks theory, then going on to Darwin and Natural Selection. All rather a long time ago, and I wasn't much interested at the time.

Thanks all.Could someone provide a reference to that Serbian minister's speech?Richard

There was some discussion and a link at Internet Infidels:
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Hey Tusko,I see that you have just met the followers of Harun Yahya. I'm not surprised to find some of them in London...Islamic creationism began with Harun Yahya, and my guess is that it is a reaction against Turkish ultra-secularism. But then it hitched a ride on the global Islamic fundamnetalist network and is now moving to claim the minds of Muslims everywhere.Here's something I wrote abut a year ago for a workshop, which might help you understand the situation:
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Thanks for the link, Coragyps.I am surprised that Ms. Kolic is so incompetent and aggressive against teaching the theory of evolution. The link says she is an Orthodox Christian, but, as far as I know, Eastern Orthodox churches never issued any official statement against the theory of evolution. I am afraid something else is going on there - maybe Serbs are just generally resentful to anything "Western"/"decadent"/"secular" after being bombed by NATO in 1999.Richard

It is true that the Eastern Othodox churches do not take an official stand on the creation/evolution debate, but I the few Orthodox [oops -- anectdotal!] whose opinions I know are creationist. I am under the impression that unofficially the Orthodox reject evolution. But it would be nice if there were any Orthodox who could clarify this.

Hi Chiroptera,Maybe you are right - some or maybe even many Orthodox are not quite hospitable to the idea of biological evolution. However, having grown up amidst the Orthodox believers, first in Ukraine and then in the Ukrainian diaspora in the US, I can't imagine that a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox church who has a sound college education would be anti-evolutionist. I can imagine anti-evolutionist sentiments only among those Ukrainian Orthodox who are not educated enough in biology or, more generally, in modern liberal arts and sciences.As you guys might know, the recent "Orange Revolution" brought a new government into Ukraine. The new President, Viktor Yushchenko, is a moderate Orthodox Christian, and the new Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, is a very devout Orthodox Christian (she even mused a couple of months ago about making the Eastern Orthodox Christian theology an elective in Ukrainian schools, with the purpose to educate the new generation in a spirit of the Ukrainian historical and cultural heritage). But I just cannot imagine them, even remotedly, to be Darwin-bashers or proponents of teaching some "intelligent design" in science classes. They both seem to be very modern people with university degrees.Anyway, I sent the link about the Serbian precedent to the Ukrainian site I had mentioned previously, and asked people, do they think this delirium could spread on Ukraine. I'll let you know about the feedback.Richard

Well, from what Nighttrain said, you may want to keep an eye on the activities of Family First. I was in high school during the early to mid 90s. I should note, though, that I didn't follow biology right through. I did it throughout my junior years, but not all of senior. I only completed part of year 11, in fact, so it is quite possible that I would have covered it had I finished the course. I don't know if it's usually left until the more advanced levels or not. Did you cover evolution prior to year 11?Any other Aussies on here want to comment? I'm curious how much of this is taught in Australian schools. It was never my favourite either. I was always (and still am) more interested in physics. I don't claim to be any good at it, but I find it more interesting.

I come from a much older generation. In Queensland, religious instruction was a compulsory subject during my primary school years in public schools. One period a week. Most of us dozed through whichever denomination priest/minister delivered it, and the lesson was forgotten by the time we reached the football/cricket field. Applying it on a larger scale might have made a difference, especially with the bludgeon of an exam to drive the lessons home. Many of my sporting friends went to religious private schools but they usually acted more heathenish than I did. So maybe the spectre of compulsory religious indoctrination is not the monster we think it is, with so much counter-information available from all sources (books, print and electronic media, movies, etc. Maybe only a certain type of personality is attracted to a dogma, and we are stuck with them. Maybe.

We're holding a discussion on that over at Message 1 right now. Love to get your input and would also like to get some input from some of our more outspoken theologists.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

For me, too. Mind you, what was referred to, at our school, as "Religious Education" would have been more accurately named if called "Bible Study." And that's a shame because religion is something that I was somewhat interested in.I would have loved for there to be a course on religion at my old school. Not just a course on Christianity, but religion. Comparative religion was of quite some interest to me, in my earlier years. I regret never having the opportunity to study it.But, getting back on topic, did you (Nighttrain) cover any evolution in school (either primary or high)? You say you're from an older generation; was evolution in school any kind of an issue in your day, perhaps?