Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia sits on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. He is a fundamentalist Christian who recently said: "Evolution, embryology, big bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell." He believes the Earth is only 9,000 years old and that the Christian Bible should be used to conduct public policy.

How many other right-wing fundamentalist Christian members of Congress are on this and other congressional committees? Republican Rep. John Shimkus quoted Genesis to deny the existence of human-caused global climate change. He chaired the House Subcommittee on the Environment and the Economy.

How much potential scientific advancement is being blocked by this type of archaic thinking? Could this be halting progress in clean energy technology, climate science, medical breakthroughs and many other areas?

This is embarrassing. Other countries will surely overtake us in scientific advancement if this attitude prevails. We should be a positive leader in science instead of an international laughingstock resembling the "flat earth society."

Fundamental religion in government is always dangerous, whether it's the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy in Iran or Christian fundamentalism in the U.S. Congress.

People can believe in God and science, including evolution. Open-minded theologians of all faiths say there should be no conflict between the two.

Anti-scientific beliefs such as those of Broun and Shimkus should have long ago been consigned to the dust bin of history. Sadly, right-wing fundamentalist members of Congress seem to enjoy living in that dust bin.

Larry Brown

Glen Carbon