As rumours persist that the Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin believes in the teaching of Creationism in American schools, it is pertinent to offer an opinion focusing on why religious opinions should not be imposed on children.

The sheer magnificence of scientific achievements should be held in reverance; a celebration of the ability for humanity to understand and influence the world for the greater good. Without some of the world's greatest scientists we would not have vaccinations for diseases. That is not to say that followers of religion do not acknowledge the fundamental need for scientific endeavour, but when it comes to the greatest question of all, the reason of the religious is cast from the mind.

The major point of contention that separates atheists with the deeply religious is, of course, the origins of the universe. The very likelihood that a super-being (aka God) completed such a task just six days is preposterous for such an occurance can be countered with the simplest of questions: if God created heaven and earth, then who created God? A childlike question for which religious beliefs provide no answer.

Creationists, however, often refute such an issue with what is often called the 'argument from design': an argument stating that if something is complex it must be designed by a super-intelligent being, God being the very being in question. Ergo, God exists. However, should that be the case, God itself is an extremely complex entity that would have required an even greater being to be its designer, and so on and so on for infinity.

For this very reason alone, Creationism has no place in schools, particularly as a substitute for the widely-evidenced theory of evolution. Yes, Darwin's theory is just that - a theory. Yet some of mankind's greatest minds have studied his work to find the evidence irrefutable. Many of these same minds have also turned their attention to the views of the Creationists, only to fall at the first hurdle: there is no evidence to examine. Creationism is not a science, it is a faith. Forcing impressionable children to believe that one being was the architect of the universe, which itself is only 10,000 years old, is a nonsense.

What's more, Creationists often appeal to the scientific to open their minds to the realms of faith and the possibility that God was the almighty creator. However, such a request is highly hypocritical since the majority of Creationists will dismiss any notion that science is correct. Accordingly, for those in-between, the presence of evidence should be the defining factor.

Perhaps it is a deeply-set part of the human psyche that makes many so insecure in their own existence and so scared that their time in life is all that there is that the need to believe in something more is all that keeps them going. If that is the case, then having a personal belief in a greater being is fine. It is the enforcing of this belief in others - namely children - that shouldn't be allowed. After all, living life in fear is barely living at all. Let children make their own decisions on whether to follow reason or seek comfort in faith.