By Leslie A. Zukor

“Why does a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate crystallize when heat is added?” one student asked in Chemistry class.  What seemed to be a routine question about straightforward science was anything but straightforward for the students at St. Thomas Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas.  

“That’s the way God made it,” the teacher quipped, avoiding the question.  While the instructor was obviously joking, it underscored a concern about the role of religion in a science classroom.  This was Honors Chemistry, and here a teacher was appealing to divine sanction in what was supposed to be a course about the chemical building blocks of life.

“My friends and I are very serious about the field of science,” explains Andrew Mickael, a 16-year-old St. Thomas student.  Mickael is the son of a Nuclear Engineer, and many of his peers are the offspring of scientists themselves.  And given how seriously the students take this field of study, “this answer was simply unacceptable to us.”

While some may dismiss this as a glib comment, this is not the first time that the teacher has appealed to God to explain the world.  Mickael’s experience proves instructive; “One time we were studying about lattice structures in molecules, and she said that they were a miracle from God.”  In short, “everything is structured so perfectly that you [can’t] refute Creation.”

In addition to being serious about Chemistry, Andrew Mickael is also an atheist.  Mickael lost his faith last summer, during his quest to find out more about the world.  “I did a lot of research on other religions as well as atheism,” Andrew remarks.  “I finally made the transition to atheist, because, [evaluated] through...reason and logic, God was impossible.”

After becoming an atheist, Andrew has been outspoken about the importance of scientific reason:  “We will not just simply accept this,” he explains.  And to prove a point, he wrote, “That’s the way God made it,” in response to a question on a homework assignment.  Since the teacher didn’t notice, Mickael intends to have his father complain to the principal.

Regardless of the outcome of Mickael’s complaint, St. Thomas, as a religious school, is permitted to teach about God.  However, when a teacher shirks his or her responsibility to explain chemical processes in a science class, there are ethical ramifications.  An instructor is supposed to help students grapple with complexity, not to appeal to a divine being.

In the words of Andrew Mickael, “The teacher has shown to the students that answering a science question in a religious manner is somehow ‘okay.’ I see it as only another statement that will put more tension between believers and non-believers, something that we could all do without.”  And St. Thomas teachers would do better to leave religion in theology class.

Leslie A. Zukor is a senior Anthropology major at Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  While at Reed, Leslie has started the Reed Secular Alliance, more information about which can be found at www.reedsecular.org.  Her hobbies include squirrel photography, baseball, and writing for various publications.