A group of 30 scientists,including Richard Dawkins and Sir David Attenborough has signed a petition calling on the government to combat Creationism in the classroom. The previous Labour government issued a guidance to schools stating that Creationism should not be taught to pupils but neither the Labour nor the present government have cemented the guidance in law. The religious belief that humanity,life and the Earth were created by God in six days,has ignited controversy in its rising popularity. The petition says that theories of Creationism and Intelligent Design are not scientific theories but are portrayed in that way by religious fundamentalists who try to have their views promoted in publicly funded schools. It also calls for the teaching of Evolution at both primary and secondary levels in the National Curriculum and in all schools. The idea popularised by Charles Darwin states that all living things developed from primitive organisms through a process of natural selection. The petition claims that organisations such as Truth in Science are encouraging teachers to incorporate intelligent design a form of Creationism,into their science teaching. To combat this they are calling for the introduction of enforceable statuary guidance that prevents such theories from being presented as scientific in any publicly funded school.
