Earlier I wrote about how the Tulsa Zoo was being pressured into creating a display promoting creationism. Good sense seems to be prevailing, though, because the display has been voted down despite the mayor's support.

The Charlotte Observer explains:

Current Mayor Bill LaFortune was the lone board member to back the planned display. He suggested that the board should form a committee to look at any religious symbols at the zoo and consider what to do with them. No action was taken on this suggestion.

The board's original decision to include a biblical story on the Earth's origin had divided residents and thrown Tulsa into the national spotlight. LaFortune had said before the meeting that he was aware of the criticism but he wanted to raise questions about religion in general at the zoo.

Americans United comments on the story:

Dan Hicks, the Religious Right crank, was not happy with other exhibits at the zoo, which he claimed represented non-Christian religions.

For example, Hicks complained to the park board that a small statue of the Hindu god Ganesha in the zoo's Elephant Encounter Museum amounted to city promotion of Hinduism. Ganesha, lord of wisdom and intelligence, among other fine attributes, is depicted in art as having an elephant's head. A stuffed Dumbo elephant and a paper red, white and blue Republican Party elephant are also included in that display.

Hicks duped the park board and Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune into believing that they needed a Christian display of some sort at the zoo for balance or neutrality.

This isn't the first time that Christian Right activists have used half-truths in order to garner support for ridiculous proposals and it won't be the last. It's just fortunate that the Tulsa Park and Recreation Board was able to see through all the deception and understand what was really going on: someone wanted to misuse the government in order to get it to endorse their religious beliefs.

Read More:

• Evolution vs. Creationism
• Science vs. Religion
• What is Science?