Dear Editor:

In his September 8 letter to the editor, Principal Bob Moore of
Guelph's John Calvin Christian School inadvertently illustrates why funding
of private religious schools is so problematic.

Principal Moore discusses the teaching of the theory of evolution
vs. creationism, and then states "The actual scientific study of the origins
of the universe in any faith-based school" would be similar to what is done
in Roman Catholic schools.

The only problem is, evolution is a biological theory that explains the
diversity of life as we see it today.    It has absolutely nothing to
do with "the origins of the universe", an entirely separate subject
outside the domain of biology.  This confusion, deliberate or
unwitting, is a classic feature of creationist tracts distributed by
fundamentalists.

If Principal Moore gets his way, and private religious schools are funded,
prepare to see more and more public funds used to disseminate this kind
of misinformation.

Jeffrey Shallit