Professor Jerry Coyne: Another government-funded organization encourages staff to chant Māori prayers

Some of you may be wondering why I persistently post on the efforts of New Zealand to interpolate local superstitions and lore into science classes and other government endeavors. This is not because I hate New Zealand, but because I love it. I hate to see the country brought down, especially scientifically, by sacralizing the superstitions of the indigenous population.

Yes, I admit that the local “way of knowing,” Mātauranga Māori (MM), does contain some empirical trial-and-error knowledge, though most of that knowledge should be conveyed in anthropology and sociology classes. But what’s going on in the country now is the world’s most pervasive form of “wokeness,” though it’s not purely performative because it actually damages the country. And the authorities have ensured that no objection to this ideological capture will be tolerated.