WASHINGTON — A congressional investigation has revealed that the Smithsonian’s top officials permitted the demotion and harassment of Richard Sternberg, a research associate at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, for allowing an article supporting intelligent design to appear in the institution’s peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The article by Stephen Meyer, a fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, laid out the evidential case for intelligent design by citing mainstream scientists from schools like the University of Chicago, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford. A rift over the article first surfaced in national media reports in January 2005.
The House committee on government reform released a report on the investigation Dec. 11, 2006, concluding that "Congress should consider statutory language that would protect the free speech rights regarding evolution of scientists in the Smithsonian and other federally funded institutions."
Among the findings of the committee is that officials at the Smithsonian created a hostile work environment intended to force Sternberg to resign his position as a research associate in violation of his free speech and civil rights. The committee concluded there was a strong religious and political component to the actions taken by officials.
Also the committee analyzed e-mail exchanges among Smithsonian officials to determine that "scientists who are known to be skeptical of Darwinian theory, whatever their qualifications or research record, cannot expect to receive equal treatment or consideration by NMNH officials."
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