A group of leading scientists and naturalists, including Professor Richard Dawkins and Sir David Attenborough, are celebrating a successful win against the creationist movement. The UK government has ratified measures that will prevent anti-evolution groups from teaching creationism in science classes. The Department for Education recently revised its model funding agreement, giving the education secretary the ability to withdraw funding from schools that fail to adhere to strict criteria about what they teach. The new agreement states that funding will be removed from any free school that teaches theories that claim to be "evidence-based views or theories" that contradict established scientific evidence and explanations. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which orchestrated the anti-creationism campaign, reported that the victory is highly significant and that it may have implications for other faith groups who want to operate schools.
Professor Richard Dawkins, one of the leading campaigners, welcomed the news, saying “I welcome all moves to ensure that creationism is not taught as fact in schools. Government rules on this are extremely welcome, but they need to be properly enforced.” Free schools, which are local authority-funded and managed by local people or organisations, do not have to follow the national curriculum. Scientific groups are concerned that the expansion of free schools could lead to the decline of evolution lessons in the classroom.
Several creationist groups are hoping to open schools in various towns and cities across England, including Bedford, Barnsley, Sheffield, and Nottingham. The critics claim that these groups aim to promote creationism or the doctrine of "intelligent design" as a scientific theory rather than a myth or metaphor.
The campaign “Teach evolution, not creationism” was initiated by the BHA and led 30 prominent scientists and educators to call for statutory guidance against teaching creationism. In response, the government revised the funding agreement, confirming that the teaching of creationism in science curriculums would not be accepted in free schools. However, numerous anti-creationists continue to press the government for further concessions. "It is clear that some faith schools are ignoring the regulations and are continuing to teach myth as though it were science," Dawkins said in a statement, adding that "Evolution is fact, supported by evidence from a host of scientific disciplines, and we do a great disservice to our young people if we fail to teach it properly."
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