Physicist Lawrence Krauss on teaching creationism: It’s a form of child abuse

Krauss noted that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently declined to say how old the Earth was, insisting it was “one of the great mysteries.” Krauss blasted the idea of teaching the Earth was 6,000 years old — as some Christians believe — rather than 4.55 billion years old.

“If you think about that, somehow saying that, well, anything goes, we shouldn’t offend religious beliefs by requiring kids to know – to understand reality; that’s child abuse,” he said. “And if you think about it, teaching kids – or allowing the notion that the earth is 6,000 years old to be promulgated in schools is like teaching kids that the distance across the United States is 17 feet. That’s how big an error it is.”

Krauss added the “purpose of education is not to validate ignorance, but to overcome it.”