Science or Religion. You Decide. Either. Neither. Both.

I gotta send out a message to the "Creationist" community. The "Scientific" community does not deny the existence of god. They do not claim to know anything for sure. Humanity still knows very little about it's environment and our place in it. What we think we know is always changing as we learn more and will continue to change daily, probably forever. Many, maybe even most things that the "Scientific" community once thought to be true, have turned out not to be and were replaced by new, revised or expanded things that were then thought to be true.

What is true, is that applied science has given us a level of technology that makes much of the way we now live possible and allows us to interact with our environment in ways that were not previously possible. By continuing to apply the scientific method to the phenomena we experience within our perceived environment, we will be able to continue to improve and expand our technology to the benefit of human kind. I hope this is true.

Nobody forces those who deny the benefits of applied science to take advantage of newly available knowledge or technology or even to recognize its existence. Those that believe religion should be the primary source of knowledge and revealed truth are free to follow that path. It could be the correct path that mankind should follow. I don't believe it. Most people don't believe it but it is every one's right to choose.

Secular education in contemporary society teaches the scientific method. It incorporates knowledge that reflects current understanding of our environment and the technology that this knowledge makes possible. Secular education makes the disclaimer that all such knowledge is subject to change and revision but is closest to the truth as we know it, today.

Currently, parents who choose are allowed to send their children to religious schools or to home school them. Some State and local authorities are trying to force students undergoing non standard education to include curriculum that parents find objectionable. I think this is wrong. Even if I think students may be crippled by not learning certain things, their education, at least up until the point of personal autonomy, should be guided by their parents wishes.

Science, if the insights provided by it are valid, has nothing to fear from religion and religion, if it is true, can have nothing to fear from science. Problems arise when those that pursue the scientific method try to suppress religious knowledge or vice versa. This happens. On both sides. It should stop. There is no reason religion and science should engage in conflict, even if they disagree. Civil law is decided by governmental authority and all are bound by it. Our Constitution, in the United States, calls for the protection of all minority rights. I hope it stays that way.