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Intelligent design advocate denies religious agenda

Posted on: Thursday, 27 October 2005, 17:34 CDT

By Jon Hurdle

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A leading critic of teaching evolution in a Pennsylvania school district denied on Thursday he wanted students to learn about biblical accounts of the origins of life.

William Buckingham, who headed the curriculum committee of Dover Area School Board, told federal court he had not meant to cite creationism as an alternative to evolution when interviewed by local TV in 2004.

"I was like a deer in the headlights of a car," Buckingham said. "That was the first time I had ever been interviewed, and I misspoke."

The court was shown a video of the interview in which Buckingham said students should be taught evolution as well as alternatives such as creationism, based on biblical teachings.

The court is hearing arguments in the fourth week of a trial in which a group of parents is suing the school district for its decision to include "intelligent design" in biology classes.

Intelligent design holds that some aspects of nature are so complex they must have been the work of an intelligent creator, rather than the result of natural selection as argued by Charles Darwin in his 1859 theory of evolution.

Proponents contend intelligent design is not a religious concept and has scientific underpinnings.

The parents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, say the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state because intelligent design is a religious concept and so may not be taught in public schools.

The case is the first legal challenge to the teaching of intelligent design and is being watched in at least 30 states where Christian conservatives are planning similar initiatives.

The school board's policy, adopted in October of 2004, requires students be read a four-paragraph statement saying there are gaps in the theory of evolution. Teachers have refused to read the statement, which has so far been read by administrators.

COUNTRY 'FOUNDED ON CHRISTIANITY'

Buckingham, a retired prison supervisor, admitted to the court he had attacked evolution and argued for students to be taught Christianity at various times before the school board adopted its policy.

He acknowledged telling a reporter in June of 2004 "this country was not founded on Muslim beliefs or evolution. This country was founded on Christianity and our students should be taught as such."

But he denied a report in a local newspaper, the York Daily Record, that he had complained in a school board meeting that "liberals and black robes are taking away the rights of Christians."

Buckingham acknowledged he had collected about $850 from members of his church to pay for about 60 copies of "Of Pandas And People," a textbook provided to students who wanted to learn more about intelligent design.

Stephen Harvey, an attorney for the parents, accused Buckingham of trying to hide the source of the money to avoid accusations the books were religiously motivated.

Harvey also accused Buckingham of telling the court a different story about the source of the money from the account he had provided in a deposition in January. "Mr. Buckingham, you lied to me in deposition, isn't that true," Harvey said.

Buckingham also said he was concerned that students were being taught that "men descended from monkeys."

He acknowledged having disparaged the separation of church and state as "mythical" and having referred to the biology curriculum as laced with Darwinism.

The trial, which began September 26, is expected to end on November 4. The school district is being represented by the Thomas More Law Center, a group of Christian litigators based in Michigan that told Buckingham about the textbook, "Of Pandas And People."

Source: REUTERS

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