bon asked
The Bush administration has stepped back from a another clash over religion's place in society, as the Justice Department quietly dropped a probe of a university professor who is actively promoting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The face-saving retreat became possible after Texas Tech University biologist Michael Dini slightly changed his requirements for issuing letters of recommendation enabling his students to join medical school. 'In light of this change, the Department of Justice has closed its inquiry into the matter,' said a statement issued by the department Tuesday. The investigation was launched after a student in Dini's class in Lubbock, Texas, complained he could not hope to obtain a formal recommendation for studying medicine because he believed that humans were created by God. Under rules initially set by Dini, the coveted letters were given to those who got at least one 'A' grade in his class, knew him personally through joint work, and could 'truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer' to the question: 'How do you think the human species originated?' This third requirement was immediately interpreted by critics as a concealed attempt to discriminate against religious students who believe in creationism -- a transgression that could not be tolerated in a state-funded educational institution. But the Justice Department, already under fire for its conservative agenda, apparently had little appetite for igniting another battle between liberals and religious right-wingers over the origins of human life. So in the end, it accepted a small concession from Dini, who had agreed to drop his demand that students 'affirm' their personal belief in evolution while continuing to insist that they be able to 'explain' Darwin's theory. Otherwise, the Darwinist professor did not give an inch. 'If you set up an appointment to discuss the writing of a letter of recommendation, I will ask you: 'How do you account for the scientific origin
162 answers · 0 comments
Answer this yourself in the app
See how this splits by age, gender, and region in the app.
