Why shouldn't creationism be taught in public schools?

Answer 1

There are two questions here, one explicit and one implicit:

The first addresses whether the concept of creationism should be taught in public schools in some class.

The second concerns whether or not creationism should be taught in a science class.

The answer to either has NOTHING to do with the theory of evolution.

Let's address the second question first, because it's the easiest to answer.

Creationism absolutely should never be taught in a science class. The reason has nothing to do with the subject matter; it has to do with Creationism not being a scientific theory. In order for an idea to be science (and consequently, have a scientific theory constructed around it), it must follow certain rules: there must be experimentally verifiable assertions made, and the theory as a whole must be constructed using these (testable) assertions combined with the reproducible experimental data. That is, science consists of making an assertion that can be proven FALSE, and then making a sufficient amount of tests to either prove that assertion false, or increase the confidence that the assertion is true (as a scientific theory is based on a preponderance of evidence, and cannot be shown "true" in the same way a mathematical proof can be).

Creationism cannot produce these testable conditions. There is no test that can be run to show whether there is a God (or Intelligent Designer) or not - that is, Creationism is rooted in faith (a form of, by definition, baseless belief), which cannot be used in science. Thus, Creationism is a form of faith/religion, not a scientific theory, and cannot be taught in a science class. You can't teach Philosophy in Science class.

The first (explicit) interpretation of the question is more tricky, as it concerns the content of Creationism as a belief system. Creationism is inherently a Christian faith system; while it is possible to structure Creationism as some form of general monotheistic belief, the literature and supporting movements of the system are derived (and almost exclusively practiced) by those of a Christian faith.

As a form of religious faith, teaching such a subject in a public school - which has a duty as a government-sponsored institution not to promote one religion over others - can be tricky.

Legally speaking, it is possible to teach Creationism in a class where the context is sociology and/or philosophy, and where the discussion and study is not "accept this as true", but more "analyze what this says and why, and look at the roots of where it came from." It would NOT be possible to teach this in any way which endorsed Creationism as "truth" or which judged people according to their adherence to its tenants, because in both situations, it would be the school (aka government) promoting the views of a specific religion over those of others not of that religion.

Thus, it could be entirely appropriate to discuss Creationism in a Comparative Religions class, or Western Philosophy class, or even a Sociology class. It might even be possible to be taught to younger kids in a Social Studies class. That is, you could "teach" Creationism in the same way you would "teach" Shakespeare or Ayn Rand. The prime point is that Creationism cannot be presented as accepted fact, or as supported by fact.

Whether or not it would be beneficial to students that such a subject be taught is left up to your local community to decide.

Answer 2

Creationism is a religious belief and teaching it in public schools would violate the principle of separation of church and state. Public schools should remain neutral on religious matters and focus on providing a secular education based on scientific evidence and critical thinking. Teaching creationism as a scientific theory would also undermine the credibility of evolutionary theory, which is widely accepted in the scientific community.