Them's fightin' words, mikecindi.<g>
To say that the theory of evolution is fact is another contradiction. It is not fact and is no better supported by science than Intelligent Design. Both have holes in them. Which do you choose to believe (oops there's that faith subject again).
I'm not an anthropologist and will leave that argument to those who have the necessary scientific background. But in NO WAY is Intelligent Design science and therefore it does not belong in a science curriculum. Intelligent Design is yet another manifestation of "The God of the Gaps." If someone thinks he/she cannot explain something by scientific evidence, he/she says "it must be God's doing." The Gaps are an ever-narrowing set. We no longer think thunder is God and the angels bowling in heaven. We no longer think there is a drought because we didn't offer the proper sacrifices. We no longer think we're sick because our mother cursed God. We now have verifiable scientific explanations for these phenomena. But because we don't understand precisely how life developed, some are very quick to say "it's too complicated; it must be God's doing." Why not simply say "we don't yet know"? Those who want to believe it's God's doing are certainly free to believe that, but many of the rest of us are content to wait for explanations that do not rely on supernaturalism.
Perhaps the "fundamentalists" you speak of would want prayer to fit their belief system but considering that the majority of the public population in these United States calls themselves Christian (not Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, and so on) I think it's interesting that you would be opposed to what the public wants who fund the school you work at.
This is called the tyranny of the majority and is what the Bill of Rights and US Constitution are designed to protect against. The US is a secular society according to our Constitution and a long history of jurisprudence. Freedom of religion also means freedom *from* religion. There is no such thing as a Universal Prayer. Such a prayer would have no content whatever and thus would be an empty gesture. And yes, those who do NOT believe in God are just as much a part of society as those who do. Numbers don't matter, freedom of/from religion does. Public prayer in a school implies that the government endorses being religious. This is not a decision government can make. People are free to say their own private prayers at any time they want, but those prayers should not be endorsed by a public body like a school.
Perhaps you could ask them why, in the interests of education. The likely answer would not be something most would accept in any other aspect of their life. They (the school board) don't want religion (Protestant in particular) because someone would alert the ACLU or other such group and the school board would be sued and probably lose a great deal of money.
And thank goodness for that! Otherwise we'd be on our way to the Christian Talibanization of American society. Actually, we'd be already there. Anyone for Salem witch trials again? This time we could burn the gays, too.
What you have said is that you are a lifelong, practicing Catholic...except at your school.
If being a "practicing anything" means you have to promote and even impose your beliefs in every sphere of life, what do you do when those who believe something else become the majority? How would you feel about living under Shariah law? Freedom of religion/freedom from religion does not rely on head counts.
The constitution was penned by men who were willing to die for the right to be Protestant. They were lifelong, practicing Protestants and their Biblical beliefs invaded every part of their life including the documents that we in the USA hold very dear.
God is not mentioned in the US Constitution. Many of the founding fathers were Deists.
to say that science disproves Christianity is foolish
But reasoning does. Example: Because of the sin of one couple, all humans ever to be born were doomed to enmity with God. Now, what kind of God would do such a thing? Would you inflict eternal damnation on your grandchildren and all descendents because your son offended you?
Why did God create humans in the first place? If it was to share eternal life with them, why not create them directly in heaven? Why have them on earth at all? Why put them to a test first--a test many will fail? And why unleash a devil on them, making it even harder for them to act the way God presumably wants humans to act? And since this devil will ultimately be vanquished by God, why not vanquish the devil now? Why not 3000 years ago? Why continue this cruel game?
And why would you demand that Jesus your son be tortured to death in order to restore humans to friendship with God and the possibility of salvation? Why kind of monster would have such a plan?
If God is in charge of life and death, why did God allow fiends like Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot to live long enough to torture and murder millions of innocent people? Why didn't God send a heart attack to the 9/11 hijackers, or at least have them stopped for a traffic ticket on their way to the airport so that they missed the planes?
I could go on for days. I'm sorry for offending people who hold these beliefs dear, but please, think about it. Give up the comfort and think about the total screwiness of the beliefs. The only logical conclusion from such beliefs is that God is a monster or a trickster.
--GrannyGeek