The British Centre for Science Education (BCSE) is a volunteer-run organization in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

that has the goal of "countering creationism within the UK" and was formed to campaign against the teaching of creationism in schools.

Activities

The BCSE has been operating since the summer of 2006. Its appearance was noted by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

National Center for Science Education in a news article on November 2, 2006. The BCSE protested when the prominent

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...

group Truth in Science sent information packs to every UK secondary school in September, 2006. BCSE estimated that TiS had, at that point, spent around £116,000, including employment of a full-time administrator. In a

letter to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mail ...

, published in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

, Ian Lowe of BCSE expressed concern that creationism could possibly flourish even in Britain; while Mike Brass, then chairman of BCSE, said in a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "intelligent design (ID) is creationism dressed up in a tux to sneak into our science classrooms." They were even mentioned in an "Early Daily Motion" in Parliament introduced by MP

Graham Stringer Graham Eric Stringer (born 17 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician serving as MP for Blackley and Broughton since 1997. Before entering Parliament, he served as leader of Manchester City Council from 1984 to 1996, and chair o ...

. In March 2011, responding to a letter from the BCSE expressing concern about the possibility that the government might fund schools based on a Creationist viewpoint, the Department of Education stated that the

Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...

was "crystal clear that teaching creationism is at odds with scientific fact". The BCSE features a website on which it tracks leading creationists and creationist organizations, particularly those active in the

. Short descriptive articles appear on each. Essays, news and reports of pro-evolution government lobbying are also featured on the website.

Criticism and controversy

The appearance of the BCSE has been met with hostility by the main promoter of

, the Discovery Institute. In particular, Discovery Institute fellow

William Dembski William Albert Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher and theologian. He was a proponent of intelligent design (ID) pseudoscience, specifically the concept of specified complexity, and was a senior fellow of the ...

has written disparagingly of the BCSE on his blog, ''Uncommon Descent''. ''The British Centre for Science Education unmasked''
William Dembski, Uncommon Descent Blog, 23 October 2006.

References

{{reflist Science education in the United Kingdom 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2006 Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom Criticism of creationism