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Some Inuit parents find Darwinian evolutionary theory so offensive that teachers in northern Quebec have been told not to mention it in class.
Alexandre April, a teacher in Salluit, Que., says his school principal told teachers not to talk about the evolution of man.However, when students asked questions, April answered them as a teacher and biologist, telling them about Darwin's theory.
It was then that April got the complaint.
"A mother called, and she said that I'd told her daughter that she was a monkey. It's not the way I presented it. Not at all. So I've been told not to do it again," April explains.
Mr April reports being threatened with disciplinary action if he doesn’t comply with the directive.
The local school board defends excising Darwin from the curriculum, saying it's more important to respect cultural differences.
The Kativik school board says it's just being sensitive to local beliefs. Even Inuit who hold traditional beliefs don't like to be told they're descended from monkeys.
"There are some beliefs where they don't want to hear this kind of stuff. You know, it's kind of like any other religion. They have their beliefs, and we have to respect that," said Gaston Pelletier of the Kativik school board.
Now watch closely as CBC, Canada's national taxpayer-funded spin-meister, distorts this news story beyond all recognition: A protest by indigenous Inuit parents in remote hamlets of the frozen North becomes just another instance of the worldwide Christian fundamentalist contagion.
The church vs. DarwinIn at least three communities where Pentecostal Christianity has gained prominece [sic], the opposition to teaching Darwin's theory is strong.
And according to one researcher, that opposition is likely to spread.
In traditional Inuit belief, a shaman is possessed by his "helping spirit," which is not dissimilar to Pentecostal beliefs, according to Louis Rousseau, professor in the department of science and religion at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
"That can be translated quite easily with the Pentecostal insistence on the experience of being taken over by the holy spirit," Rousseau said.
Rousseau says Pentecostal Christianity is the fastest-spreading Christian denomination in the world, and that with what he's seeing among the Inuit, it is likely to spread across the North just as quickly.
Doesn't that just take your breath away?
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[...] If you agree that Nunavik students should have the "same education as other students", then they have to be taught evolution. But, as implied here (and made explicit in earlier reports), local parents believe that teaching evolution to their children is ipso facto disrespectful to their culture. You can't have it both ways on this one. [...]
[...] Leftist bias at Canada’s national taxpayer-funded spin-meister has been an issue in Canadian politics for years. Conservative politicians and other citizens have repeatedly complained about CBC in the past. Now that the Conservatives form the government, and since this reporter was suspended for supporting a cause dear to the heart of PM Stephen Harper, this may come back to bite CBC on the behind. Let's hope so. Stay tuned. [...]