Statement in support of the evolutionary sciences by the Coyote Wicca Church.

For a modern nation to be healthy, and for the citizenry of a modern nation to be prosperous, it and they must compete successfully in the global market in terms of both production and knowledge. The opposition of science in general, and the evolutionary sciences in particular, is anathema to this worthy and desirable goal. Maintaining scientific literacy is fundamental to maintaining the high standard of living that most industrialized nations enjoy: scientific ignorance has always been deleterious to a nation's standard of living, but more so in the modern world.

Worse, active opposition to scientific literacy is socially divisive when that opposition comes in the form of sectarian and often fanatical adherence to religious dogma and phobia. Installing one religious creed such as Creationism (currently cloaked as "Intelligent Design" in the United States) into the public school system (for example) by necessity excludes all other contrary religious creeds--- to the detriment of religious freedom for all. Only complete religious neutrality by the government can assure complete religious freedom.

Many Creationists believe, or for political reasons merely assert they believe, that governmental religious neutrality is actually official hostility towards religion. Many Creationists also believe that the evolutionary sciences are themselves "religious dogmas" and a matter of "faith:" both false assertions are not only socially divisive, they are also insulting to the people of faith who recognize the equal importance of religious neutrality and scientific literacy.

The Coyote Wicca Church officially recognizes the fact that evolution occurred and occurs; we accept that evolutionary theory explains and describes the fact of evolution accurately; we therefore accept the necessity and desirability to support and defend the teaching of evolutionary theory in the public schools and in all other appropriate educational and informational venues.

It is therefore resolved among the membership of the Coyote Wicca Church to "sign" and endorse the Open Letter of the Clergy Letter Project, with the dual caveats that we are not Christians and that our designated representative, Rev. David Rice, represents our collective voice in this matter only.

The endorsement may be made as follows:

Rev David Michael Rice
Coyote Wicca Church
Window Rock, Arizona



The Coyote Wicca Church
Thursday, February 16, 2006