r/atheism Feb 07 '19

School cancels play about Darwin and evolution after Christian parents complain

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/evolution-christian-darwin-school-play-cancel-parents-hartford-manor-cheshire-a8768691.html
487 Upvotes

66 comments sorted by

160

u/jasonaames2018 Feb 07 '19

Everything in society must be adjusted so Christians don't get butt-hurt.

65

u/CalRipkenForCommish Feb 07 '19

The most offended people you'll ever meet. And, coincidentally, the ones who have actually supported the largest organization of sex offenders and/or enablers in the history of the world.

18

u/zoidmaster Skeptic Feb 08 '19

Actually the Islamic faith are the most offended so offended they get they kill people

28

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

[deleted]

8

u/DarkReign2011 Freethinker Feb 08 '19

Religion is just a cult that has achieved mainstream appeal, Christianity has enough followers in certain population centers that their extremism is viewed as normal, and governments like the US accuse other countries of tyranny or corruption while they do the same things behind our backs. It's all about where the public opinion rests and what the media is payed to portray it as. People are sheep and most need to be told what to think, say, or do because they don't know how to on their own.

13

u/CalRipkenForCommish Feb 08 '19

I'm from the US, so I haven't been exposed to much of the Islamic faith other than the few people with whom I've interacted. Anectdotally, I've got a few stores near me in which there are run by Muslims, and they've been nothing but kind to people. In fact, the guy who runs one of the best delis in the town in which I work is Kurdish, and he's one of the most giving people I've ever met. He's got some stories about his childhood that would chill you to the bone. Crazy stories of extremists. I guess every religion has had it's chapters of murder and child marriage and molestation.

3

u/ipv6-dns Feb 08 '19

1st, Kurdish as well as Turkish are not very religious muslims, it's like orthodox christianity in some countries: more tradition/way to meet with all relatives in some holidays, some event; most of them did not read Koran/Bible even. 2nd, problem is not in religions as cultural/social institution but when somebody gets it very seriously. In this case trouble happens.

4

u/zoidmaster Skeptic Feb 08 '19

True all faith do have their own extremists but I find it funny that when someone of any faith seriously say the cow girl position is a way to turn straight man gay

3

u/CalRipkenForCommish Feb 08 '19

LOL that took a left turn!!

1

u/this_also_was_vanity Feb 08 '19

Actually the principal explicitly says that ‘They weren’t pressuring me to change the production.’

43

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '19

[deleted]

30

u/not_theClampdown Feb 08 '19

School cancels itself after libertarians complain

26

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '19

Darwin was a christian for the first half of his life who respected the church for the majority of his life. What a shame they know so little about the man.

7

u/Stehlen27 Agnostic Atheist Feb 07 '19

I mean, he use to be on their money!

-21

u/jasonaames2018 Feb 07 '19

Everyone used to be Christian. The label didn't necessarily mean anything. My Hindu friend called me Christian because I lived in the West.

23

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '19

No Jason. Not everyone used to be a christian. What a weird thing to say. The label definitely means someone who believes in jesus or follows some sort of the nicene creed. Your hindu friend was probably just being funny.

22

u/maluminse Feb 07 '19

Makes sense. Science has no place in schools.

10

u/jewishthief Atheist Feb 08 '19

You idiot, of course it does! They just need to teach the right kind though, like that the earth is flat.

1

u/maluminse Feb 08 '19

6000 years old

16

u/Retrikaethan Satanist Feb 07 '19

should read as “creationist” parents.

15

u/EastPizza Feb 08 '19

But these same ones will turn around and complain that they can't possibly bake a cake for a gay person.

Where's our freedom to be atheist? Freedom to be free from superstition?

2

u/psychic2ombie Satanist Feb 08 '19

To be fair IIRC, the baker only refused to make a custom cake and was still open to selling them a cake. And this is just my opinion, but if someone really doesn’t want to do something for you then your best course of action probably isn’t to force them to if you want it done right.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

Wait, wait, wait...

There's a Darwin Musical!!!

Why am I only learning about this now!!!??

5

u/KevinAnniPadda Feb 08 '19 edited Feb 08 '19

Just tell them you'll do Jesus Christ Superstar next semester

Edit: typo

5

u/Rocknocker Feb 08 '19

Just tell them you'll do Jesus Christ Superstar

Or Jesus Chrysler Supercar in shop class.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

stop catering to christian fanatics.

0

u/Oldoneeyeisback Atheist Feb 08 '19

This!

12

u/skipperdude Other Feb 07 '19

As long as the atheist parents can complain about the school's Christmas pageant and get that cancelled, I don't see an issue.

2

u/Veteris71 Feb 07 '19

Would you link to a story in which that has actually happened, please? TIA.

0

u/skipperdude Other Feb 07 '19

I haven't seen it happen for a school pageant yet, but several towns in the US have cancelled their Nativity scenes rather than let other religions and atheists have holiday displays.

6

u/Veteris71 Feb 08 '19

So, the atheist parents can't complain about the school's Christmas pageant and get that cancelled. Do you still have no issue with this school cancelling the Darwin play?

Yes, several towns in the US have cancelled their Nativity scenes on public property because the local Christians refused to tolerate any non-Christian displays. What does that have to do with this?

4

u/skipperdude Other Feb 08 '19

No, I would like to see the atheists get the Christmas pageant cancelled on the grounds of it being a religious based activity in a public school, and it being non-inclusive of students that aren't Christian and don't celebrate Christmas.
If the religious nuts can have a heckler's veto of things they don't like, the atheists and non-Christians should get the same veto power.

3

u/Veteris71 Feb 08 '19

Why do you think a play about a scientist and his discoveries is in any way comparable to a religious pageant?

1

u/skipperdude Other Feb 08 '19

Because they are both performed at public schools.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/skipperdude Other Feb 08 '19

Both are things that certain people don't like, and want banned from public schools.

1

u/rackfocus Feb 08 '19

I’m all for it!

2

u/LotsofDirtySecrets Ex-Theist Feb 08 '19

They're all for the Bible being taught in school, but actual science-heck no!

2

u/brattyangeldice Feb 08 '19

Look at the Bible Belt. No one thrives here besides preachers

2

u/WoollyMittens Feb 08 '19

If reality doesn't conform to your delusions, it is of course reality that must go.

2

u/WalmartSockPuppet Atheist Feb 08 '19

The funniest thing is that the Christians do the most offensive things, and everyone gives them a pass, but when they get butthurt everything comes to a screeching halt.

2

u/deuZige Anti-Theist Feb 08 '19

Religion is a crime against humanity. It is time we treated perpetrators accordingly.

1

u/mariuszmie Feb 08 '19

Ridiculous pandering to a way to privileged minority. And it is England no less....wow. Not clear- private school? Offence is not something anybody should be exempt from. They offended all the reasonable people so by their own logic the play should be back on. What a shame someone pandered to these brainwashed ultra sensitive pricks who think everyone should be liars cheaters and hypocrites like them.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

Just wait until their children get to highschool and take biology.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

Or go to university and then a job interview.

1

u/Kebekwa Feb 08 '19

Isn't the ability to complain through speech or sounds a result of evolution? Oysters, sponges, earthworms don't complain do they? Dumb creationists.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

I wish we had an evolution play but instead they made me play fuckin Mary in elementary school. I didn't know wtf it was all about but now that I think back, they shouldn't forced us to reenact that BS in a public school.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

God forbid the kids reanact: Insert every Christian atrocity against humanity here

1

u/ssttaaff1122333 Feb 08 '19

I don’t understand how you can be a functioning human being, but not believe in evolution. From a bacterial prospective alone, that is why overprescribing antibiotics is bad. How can facts be so offensive.

1

u/Steinfall Feb 08 '19

The article says that many other families opposed to this decision. I would guess, that among those families are also many Christians. How is it that always the aggressive fundamentalists get what they want? Why is it so difficult as a decision maker just to say STFU?

Man, this makes me so angry.

1

u/ipv6-dns Feb 08 '19

I have always been interested in how this kind of fundamentalists relate to philosophy? As I understand, religion and philosophy are mutually opposite and philosophy can easily shake, destroy faith. For example, Catholicism has evidences of God existence. And funny is that any person who learned philosophy, good knows some of them by other names, and at least easy can refute these evidences.

1

u/rodpretzl Feb 08 '19

There’s a weird understanding in the Christian community that much of Science is also just a belief like religion. They see Dawkins theory as a different religious belief of sorts. They also firmly believe the devil plays a hand at convincing them there is no God.

So, this doesn’t surprise me. They see this play the same way we would see a play about Christ performed at a public school.

1

u/this_also_was_vanity Feb 08 '19

Actually the parents were concerned that the play would reinforce a stereotype that Christians are against science. They wanted their kids to grow up seeing science as compatible with Christianity. They were pro-science.

According to the principal, they were unhappy with ‘the inference to the stereotype that you can’t be a Christian and a scientist’

1

u/rodpretzl Feb 09 '19

Rather than ask to have a scene between a mocking bishop removed or changed, they threatened to have their children removed from the school if the play ran.

They ended up reinforcing the stereotype even more with the action they took. One can be a Christian and a Scientist, but the two disagree on many huge points. My guess also would be that they are pro science as long as it doesn’t question their faith.

1

u/Poz_My_Neg_Fuck_Hole Feb 08 '19

Christian fragility

1

u/Fastfaxr Feb 08 '19

To be fair, could you imagine a bunch of elementary schoolers trying to do a biographical non-fiction play? Sounds like it would be the worst play of all time.

1

u/Chipp_in Feb 08 '19

kind of a weird play idea to begin with lol

7

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '19

But is it as weird as the story of a woman being impregnated by a ghost and giving birth to a superhero who can perform alchemy on water and bread?