Creationists sue biology professor
A creationist student and the Liberty Legal Institute, a religious group, considers to sue Professor Michael Dini of Texas Tech University in Dallas because he refuses to write letters of recommendation for students who do not accept evolution. The Justice Department investigates the complaint.
Professor Dini refers potential students to his website, where he asks “”How do you think the human species originated?” He then moves on to state that “If you cannot affirm a scientific answer to this question, then you should not seek my recommendation for admittance to further education in the biomedical sciences.”
The Liberty Legal Institute asserts that students are refused the recommendations “solely because of their personal religious beliefs.”
Professor Dini should be commended for being upfront about this. A creationist has no more place in biology than a flat-earther has in geography. As the eminent biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky said, “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution.” No student should be encouraged to seek post-graduate education in a field if he or she pays mere lip-service to its fundamental principles. The religionist arguments here are absurd. Students are not being refused because of their religious beliefs, but for their lack of understanding of and acceptance of science. If rejection of science is their religious belief, they should seek a monestary not a university.
PS: It is interesting to note the differences in reporting about this case. The New York Times tries to keep a neutral tone. The UK’s Guardian ironises openly over the case, and comments that “Texas has the country’s only Creation Evidence museum.” In the news item in KCIT in Texas, the journalist apparently struggles to understand the issues, and even writes “The fact still remains — belief in a creator is a major tenet of Christianity,” (d’oh!) indicating that theism excludes evolution.