> I cant help but wince every time I hear a story about a deeply religious person becoming a teacher to teach biology or history!
History? Why?
As to biology, while evolution is fundamental for some things, it's irrelevant much of the time[1]. Insisting on "true believers" in those cases is imposing an irrelevant religious test.
[1] Yes, irrelevant. Very little in biochemistry or molecular biology depends on how life evolved to use the chemical reactions that it uses. Cellular biology is much the same. There are parts of physiology where evolution has a little more relevance but ....
Regarding your footnote, this is true, but keeping evolution in mind helps explain the sometimes convoluted steps in biochemical reactions to get an end-product (that would otherwise be pretty simple in an organic chemistry lab).
History? Why?
As to biology, while evolution is fundamental for some things, it's irrelevant much of the time[1]. Insisting on "true believers" in those cases is imposing an irrelevant religious test.
[1] Yes, irrelevant. Very little in biochemistry or molecular biology depends on how life evolved to use the chemical reactions that it uses. Cellular biology is much the same. There are parts of physiology where evolution has a little more relevance but ....