Canada’s Neo-Con science minister admits he thinks science is based on religion

He did everything but say it explicitly. But it was screaming out as his premise in everything he said.

So I’m spamming this story here as well as at my ExFundie blog, because this is a religious story that has deadly influence on Canada’s politics.

Canada’s Minister of State for Science and Technology gets asked a question about science (“do you believe in evolution?”), and he answers religiously (“I don’t think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate”).

Read the full story in this Globe and Mail article: Minister won’t confirm belief in evolution.

He might have had slight — just slight — justification in mentioning religion, since the basic question was whether he believed in evolution as our government Science guy, people being worried about that because he is a creationist.

And yet.

Do you get what he’s admitting?? Two things:

1. creationism is religious, not scientific; and therefore its sneaky relative, “Intelligent Design” (which uses the same creationist textbooks but just changes the word “creationism” to “Intelligent Design” to try to sneak it past the regulations about not teaching religion in school), is also religious
2. he believes evolution with all its evidence is merely a religious belief; this is a common fallacy taught by creationists, since they don’t base anything on actual evidence, but on their religious beliefs

And this is the guy in charge of Canada’s science and technology?? Damn, is this country in trouble.

Many scientists fear 10 years of gains will be wiped out by a government that doesn’t understand the importance of basic, curiosity-driven research, which history shows leads to the big discoveries. They worry Canada’s best will decamp for the United States, where President Barack Obama has put $10-billion (U.S) into medical research as part of his plan to stimulate economic growth.

Indeed. Be afraid, scientists. Be very afraid. We already know the government fires people from Health Canada if their evidence doesn’t support the neo-Con ideology. It’s going to get worse as long as these bastards hold any power whatsoever in this country.

Just when North America gets rid of faith-based “science” south of the 49th parallel, we’ve got a guy in charge of our own science who judges scientific ideas not by whether they are supported by sound evidence, but by whether Moses or the apostle Paul like the evidence or not.

Jim Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, said he was flabbergasted that the minister would invoke his religion when asked about evolution.

“The traditions of science and the reliance on testable and provable knowledge has served us well for several hundred years and have been the basis for most of our advancement. It is inconceivable that a government would have a minister of science that rejects the basis of scientific discovery and traditions,” he said.

But at least we’ve got it on record now, and the moron can’t escape it. Creationism is not science, but religion.

Otherwise, he’d have had no problem whatsoever discussing it in the context of a conversation about science. Right?? Right.