From Science 308 1394 (2005):
Is Holland Becoming the Kansas of Europe?
Martin Enserink
AMSTERDAM--Well, not quite Kansas--after all, this is the country that legalized euthanasia and invented gay marriage. But when science and education minister Maria van der Hoeven recently announced plans to stimulate an academic debate about "intelligent design" (ID)--the movement that believes only the existence of a creator can explain the astonishing complexity of the living world--she triggered an uproar not unlike that raging in the sunflower state.
Prominent biologists have denounced Van der Hoeven, a member of the Christian-Democratic Party and a Catholic, for blurring the line between church and state. Last week, she faced a barrage of hostile questions in the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament, where she was compared to the Kansas school board members who want to introduce ID in the classroom. "Does she want to go back to the Dark Ages?" the usually sober daily NRC Handelsblad lamented in an editorial. The minister has called the issue a "storm in a teacup" and claims she has been misunderstood. [...]
From Science 308 1394 (2005):
Is Holland Becoming the Kansas of Europe?
Martin Enserink
AMSTERDAM--Well, not quite Kansas--after all, this is the country that legalized euthanasia and invented gay marriage. But when science and education minister Maria van der Hoeven recently announced plans to stimulate an academic debate about "intelligent design" (ID)--the movement that believes only the existence of a creator can explain the astonishing complexity of the living world--she triggered an uproar not unlike that raging in the sunflower state.
Prominent biologists have denounced Van der Hoeven, a member of the Christian-Democratic Party and a Catholic, for blurring the line between church and state. Last week, she faced a barrage of hostile questions in the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament, where she was compared to the Kansas school board members who want to introduce ID in the classroom. "Does she want to go back to the Dark Ages?" the usually sober daily NRC Handelsblad lamented in an editorial. The minister has called the issue a "storm in a teacup" and claims she has been misunderstood. [...]
