One of the more pathetic arguments of Christian Nationalists is that if public schools teach anything that conflicts with the narrow theological doctrines of conservative Christianity, they are, in fact, promoting atheism (or “secular humanism,” as many on the far right used to put it).
It’s nonsense, of course, and a federal court just shot the argument down yet again.
The lawsuit was filed by Jason and Jennifer Reinoehl, who argued that the local public schools in Mishawaka, Ind., were teaching atheism because – wait for it – the schools included evolution in the science curriculum.
In their lawsuit, the Reinoehls referred to the “the state-sponsored, atheistic, religious Theory of Evolution” and “the state-sponsored, atheistic, religious Big Bang Theory.” Their suit, blogger Hemant Mehta noted, was studded with creationist talking points and bad science.
The federal judge who heard the case was not impressed by the force of these arguments. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the couple had failed to prove that they even had the right to bring the case. Barker wrote that there’s simply no evidence that the couple’s daughter “faces any immediate or impending risk of harm.”
Barker went on to write that despite what the Reinoehls asserted, “the purported similarities between evolution and atheism do not render the teaching of evolution in public schools violative” of the First Amendment’s religion clauses.
The Reinoehls might want to talk to some of the many, many religious people who accept the reality of evolution. They also might want to bone up on science generally, but that’s probably too much to ask.
For now, we can just be thankful that this foolish lawsuit had absolutely no legs.
