Sir

In his recent review of Niles Eldredge's The Triumph of Evolution and the Failure of Creationism (Nature 406, 935; 2000), Robert W. Cahn speculates on why creationism has surfaced only among Christian fundamentalists in the United States. He says ultraorthodox Jews and fundamentalist Muslims are more concerned with daily ritual, dietary practice and appropriate observance of holy days, while fundamentalist Christians are wholly focused on belief — causing the current ground swell of activism to curb the teaching of evolution in US schools.

There is no reason to believe that ultraorthodox Jews and fundamentalist Muslims are any less fervent in their beliefs about creation by an all-powerful deity. However, most choose to educate their children in private religious schools where they can control the science curriculum without infringing on the rights of others to learn about evolutionary theory.

Apparently, Christian fundamentalists feel they are entitled to publicly sponsored and funded schools where the teaching conforms to their religious beliefs, even though this is prohibited by the US constitutional separation of church and state. Perhaps they should be encouraged to send their children to private schools, so that other children are no longer deprived of their right to be taught a current, well-validated scientific theory.