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L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican paper announced in Tuesdays edition that Intelligent Design is not science.

No shit.

I’ve been reading bits and peices about intelligent design for a while and one thing that strikes me is that it is all very purile.

Some religious nuts are upset that only science is taught in schools, which is a fair point. But ‘Intelligent Design’ is just a thinly veiled attempt at turning religion into science as far as I can tell, and I can’t remember the last time that any school system was allowed to teach it’s children lies and half-truths based on a work of fiction written about 2000 years ago.

I think that children should be exposed to religion, but only when they are old enough and only as a point of reference. I.E. religion is out there kids, this is what it is, make your own mind up. Not teaching them that it is THE TRUTH. Kids believe Power Rangers are real, how difficult will it be to push onto them fiction about a man on a cross who could perform miracles? Not very difficuly I would wager.

I don’t want to get into a bitchfight with myself about religion, I’ve still not completely made up my mind about it. All I do know is that it is a great way to control a large number of people, but religion is losing it’s hold over society - the internet helps. It’s now easier than ever to find out about anything, not just religion and to get a — mostly — unbiased view on the subject.

So, becoming religious is almost like buying a new car or house. You pick the one most suited to your needs - which kind of makes a mockery of it eh?

Everyone needs faith in something, but faith is a personal thing and not something you can put upon other people, espcially children. Parents have a duty to educate their children on many things, but religion is something personal. Of course, as a parent, you want your child to have the same set of beliefs that you do, but you also want to give them the choice and the information to make it an informed choice. Well you should do, what kind of parent are you otherwise? Until a child reaches an age where they CAN make informed choices based upon the information they have, what can you do? Your best. Show them what you believe and try to get them to understand it’s a choice they have as they grow up.

But don’t teach it to children in schools as the truth. That’s just plain wrong.

Read more > CBS News