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Missouri "Right to Pray" Amendment Lets Kids Opt Out of Evolution Education

1,559 views · Published 10 August 2012 · 1:12 · Indexed 30 September 2026

Channel: Slate · 2012 · Science & Technology

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Should schoolchildren be allowed to opt out of learning about evolution because it contradicts their creationist beliefs?

Thanks to the Missouri state legislature passing the "right to pray" amendment this week, kids can refuse to participate in any school assignments they believe violate their religious beliefs. The amendment, which reinforces already strong protections to religious free speech in the state, also claims the 80 percent majority of religious Christians in Missouri are "public targets" in church/state debates. 

Some are suggesting the legislation also opens up a Pandora's box of lawsuits from both sides of the issue. And the American Civil Liberties Union has warned that an amendment allowing kids to opt out from parts of curriculum due to religious beliefs is a "profound change in educational law." Meanwhile, some of us are jealous. If only we could have used that education-skirting excuse: "The dogma ate my homework!"

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