A sixteen year old schoolgirl, Mariya Shrayber has launched Russia’s first legal challenge to the teaching of Darwinian evolution in schools. Her representatives claim that three areas of State Law are being infringed by the teaching of Darwinism as fact. They are seeking for evolution to be taught as a hypothesis which can be critically examined, with equal status given to ‘intelligent creation’.
The case centres on a science textbook recommended by the Russian Ministry of Education and used in Mariya’s school. In the first hearing, on 13 December 2006, one of authors of the textbook, Professor S. Mamontov, was examined. Mariya’s supporters claim that he gave unsatisfactory answers to questions about the origin of a life on earth, the origin of human beings and natural selection. It is such issues that they would like to see critically examined in schools.
Kirill Shrayber, who is representing his daughter Mariya in court, is making a case on the basis of wide-ranging claims: her personal development and education is hindered by the teaching of unconfirmed theories about the origin of human beings; her rights as a Russian citizen are breached by the teaching of false ideas as facts; Darwin’s theory is atheistic and teaching it as fact contravenes the freedom of religion; teaching of Darwin’s theory promotes communist ideology. Supporters of Mariya also claim that she has come under direct pressure and insults at school, and are seeking a formal apology.
A Russian court is scheduled to resume hearing testimony on 21 February. “We hope that in this judicial session our requests will be satisfied, and the evolutionary concept will begin to be taught in textbooks as one of hypotheses, with corresponding comments by experts, and the scientific concept of Intelligent Creation...will take an equal place in textbooks,” said Kirill Shrayber.
Science magazine reports that Andrei Fursenko, Russia’s education and science minister, suggested last month in a radio interview that he is not averse to amending the textbook to include a variety of theories.