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Jerry Coyne has responded to Ken Miller's piece (parts of which I though were less than fair) and, in doing so has expressed a view of science which, if accepted by American courts, would guarantee that science could not be taught as true in our public schools, but could only be taught as a one philosophy out of many or in comparative religion classes. Specifically, Coyne states:

While science and theism (i.e., the view that God acts to change things in the material world) are compatible in the trivial sense that some people adhere to both, they are incompatible in the philosophical sense of being harmonious world views.

Science can be taught as true in American public schools precisely because it is deemed not to be a "world view" but, instead, is a methodology (though not the simplistic one unfortunately often taught) that can be consistently applied by people of many different philosophies and theologies or lack thereof. In other words, that science is something separate and apart from either philosophy or theology.

Fortunately for American school children, Jerry Coyne does not determine what science is -- which may account for his frustration that so many science organizations have failed to take his preferred position on the subject of science and religion. And, it is to be hoped, we will, with help from people like Ken Miller, continue to be able to teach science for what it is: the best tool we have for exploring the natural world.
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