In London, religious schools are eligible for government funding as long as they follow a (limited) set of guidelines. But a letter from the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, written in Hebrew for a local publication and directed at 100 or so ultra-Orthodox school leaders, urges those administrators to reject the money because it may mean having to teach the “lie” that the Earth is older than 6,000 years.
As reported by the JC last week, last months’ notice from the UOHC warned strictly orthodox educational institutions not to sign contracts with councils for early years funding, because the [Department of Education] guidelines state councils should not fund institutions which present “creationism as fact”.
The notice stated that “they place great doubts, Heaven forfend, in the creation of the world with the lie that the world is ancient, may their mouths be filled with earth.
“This is a lie that earlier sages of blessed memory contended with, and now they wish to infiltrate us with this falsehood.”
At least the government official in charge of the Department of Education, Damian Hinds, isn’t interested in lowering standards to appease the Ken Ham wannabes. He said recently that, “Creationism has no place in the science curriculum and you’re not going to get marks in your science GCSE [an academic exam] talking about creationism.”
I hope the schools reject the funding. If they can’t even get behind a policy that permits the teaching of mythology as long as a few facts are thrown in, they shouldn’t be getting anything from taxpayers. It’s a self-imposed version of church/state separation and it’s better for everyone involved if the government isn’t funding anti-science indoctrination.
(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to Brian for the link)