Why are religious conservatives afraid of secular science education?

Do they fear that their churches are not strong enough to instill belief and grow in membership in the face of a secular science education system? Of course not, for evangelical churches have grown in size despite decades of secular education in science.

So, if secular science is not a threat to religious conservativism, what is the point of the continued fight to inject creationism into the science program (directly or indirectly)?

I think the real point may be to continue to keep the creationism issue in the news. As publicists say, any publicity is good publicity. When creationism is in the news, its credibilty might seem enhanced among some persuadable people.

The hard core secularists will not be moved - they will only become more hard core. Same with the hard core religious conservatives.

So the whole public circus may be a calculated attempt to persuade the persuadables who become aware of the conflict. Who are those people? I wonder.

I also wonder why the pro-science forces would even show up at Scopes II.

The 6-4 conservative majority will do what it wants anyway. How will the Western World react? I think I know.

CNN.com - Evolution hearings open in Kansas - May 5, 2005
TOPEKA, Kansas (Reuters) — A six-day courtroom-style debate opened Thursday in Kansas over what children should be taught in schools about the origin of life — was it natural evolution or did God create the world?

The hearings, complete with opposing attorneys and a long list of witnesses, were arranged amid efforts by some Christian groups in Kansas and nationally to reverse the domination of evolutionary theory in the nation’s schools.

William Harris, a medical researcher and co-founder of a Kansas group called the Intelligent Design Network, posed the core question about life’s beginnings before mapping out why he and other Christians want changes in school curriculum.

[snip]

Kansas has been struggling with the issue for years, capturing worldwide attention in 1999 when the state school board voted to downplay Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in science classes.

Subsequent elections altered the membership of the board and led to renewed backing for evolution instruction in 2001. But elections last year gave conservatives a 6-4 majority and the board is now producing new science teaching guidelines.