News Briefs: October 06, 2008

Michael Reiss resigned as director of education for the The Royal Society, Britain’s national academy of science, amid false reports that he supports creationism. In a talk at the British Association’s Festival of Science, Reiss argued that science teachers should be prepared to discuss creationism more frequently with students and should be able to show that evolution is more scientific. He suggested creationism be treated “not as a misconception but as a worldview.” Several Royal Society fellows demanded his resignation as the society said his comments “led to damage to the society’s reputation.” Reiss, who is ordained in the Church of England, resumed a full-time position as professor of science education at the University of London’s Institute of Education.
Religious organizations can buy Google ads related to the keyword “abortion” after a September court battle. The Christian Institute, a British group, sued Google last spring over its policy that it “does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain ‘abortion and religion-related content.'” Abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood, and other groups were allowed to purchase ads for the keyword. Google settled the suit with the Christian Institute privately and announced September 17 that it will allow such sponsored links if the ad content is factual and not graphic or emotional. The ad policy change applies to Google worldwide.
The Episcopal House of Bishops voted 88-35 to remove Robert Duncan as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh for “abandoning the communion” of the Episcopal Church. The vote came about a month before the diocese was scheduled to vote on whether to leave the Episcopal Church and join the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. The September 18 vote is unprecedented in Episcopalian history, said Faith McDonnell, director of religious liberty programs at the Institute on Religion & Democracy. “This preemptive strike against a bishop who was still the bishop of a diocese in the Episcopal Church is pretty breathtaking,” she said. Duncan is moderator of the Common Cause Partnership, a network of several orthodox Anglican groups in North America.