Current Affairs

UK government bans teaching creationism as science in all state schools

Jun 23 2014
Written by Joseph McCormick

The British Government has banned the teaching of creationism as science in all academies and free schools.

Arriving last week, the clauses banning the teaching of creationism as scientific fact, state that the “requirement for every academy and free school to provide a broad and balanced curriculum in any case prevents the teaching of creationism as evidence based theory in any academy or free school.”

This comes just days after Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt attacked the use of “dangerous” textbooks in British schools that teach homosexuality is a choice.

The textbooks, which also compare homosexuality to murder and stealing, are part of the US-based Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum, which lists over 30 participant UK schools on its website.

The UK government in 2012 banned all future free schools from teaching creationism as science in all future free schools, however it did not apply the policy to existing free schools, and academies.

Under the new rules, all state-funded educational institutions can now no longer teach the theory as evidence-based.

The new church academies clauses require that “pupils are taught about the theory of evolution, and prevent academy trusts from teaching ‘creationism’ as scientific fact.”