The Texas State Board of Education conducted a vote to revise the science standards of of its educational system on January 23, 2009 in an effort to strike back against changes made in 2003 which watered down references to the theory of evolution in biology texts for students. At that time, members of the Board had been in favor of changing the texts to discuss the so called strengths and weakness of evolution versus a theory that a religious deity created life on Earth. Many science professionals had campaigned to have the Board’s decision over ruled and modern science fundamentals re-instated in order to ensure that Texas students were being taught science that would be more globally recognized as opposed to religious theories. Some of the more socially conservative members of the Board still pushed to alter texts in the areas of biology, space and Earth sciences to try to place religious concepts in line with actual scientific hypothesis and theories. This means that in March, the Board will once again be faced with a challenge from those in the science community who see their attempt to insert religious ideals into secular text books for children as inappropriate for an academic setting.
What the science advocates find most disturbing is the political implications that are being brought into the classroom by the religious community, they tell the press. Critics of the strengths and weaknesses wording that advocates religious thought as an alternative to science thought say that such concepts belong in social studies or other disciplines and not in science where religious and cultural values are not supposed to interfere.
