Sacrificing education on the altar of religion

SCMP Education Mailbag - (May 22, 2009)

I was intrigued to read about the views on the teaching of evolution of the "group of 64". I would refer Professor Tsui to the article entitled "15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense", published in the July 2002 edition of Scientific American.

This article explains how natural selection can produce sophisticated structures and explains rather comically that, "Even if a creationist does accept a fossil as transitional between two species, he or she may then insist on seeing other fossils intermediate between it and the first two. These frustrating requests can proceed ad infinitum and place an unreasonable burden on the always incomplete fossil record."

Curious as to what may motivate the group of 64 to take a position at odds with the overwhelming majority of scientists, I decided to Google the four members identified in the Education Post article. Could it be that these were renegade scientists struggling valiantly against a vast conspiracy?

Alas, the evidence points to a less edifying explanation. Professor Tsui's page on the Chinese University of Hong Kong website includes a photo endearingly titled "my church". Chris Beling is described as a Christian at www.eulertruthbible.wordpress.com. Anissa Chan Wong Lai-kuen is principal of St. Paul's Co-educational College, whose website states its mission includes to "uphold the founding Christian spirit of our schools ... ", and Professor Ho Kin-Chung is an adviser to Stewards Pooi Kei College, whose website states that "Our moral education is based upon the principles stated in the Holy Bible."

The group of 64 would have us believe that this dispute is a scientific one, but it appears instead to be a dispute between religion and science. Entertaining as this dispute may be, it is important that the integrity of Hong Kong's education system is not sacrificed on the altar of religion.

TORQUIL MACLEOD, The Peak