As a non-religious person who firmly believes in the separation of church and state, I began reading Robert Gaviak’s column “Religions, science don’t belong in the same classroom” thinking I would agree with it entirely, but then there was an aspect of it that I found disturbing: his one-sided portrayal of religion as something that “has remained throughout history the blunt instrument of oppression used to cudgel humankind into submission through discouragement of independent thought an deterrence of self-determination”. This view of religion is both unfair and harmful to our society. First, there are numerous scientists who are still members of a religious community, and religious people who respect the findings of science. And in our current highly polarized society, defaming a large percentage of our population in this way can only lead to further strife. We need to find a path of respect for each other’s beliefs — or non-beliefs.
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.