Los Angeles, Calif., Mar 2, 2012 / 01:14 am
A NASA mission specialist allegedly demoted for his beliefs about intelligent design is suing Jet Propulsion Laboratories in a civil trial to begin in Los Angeles March 7.
David Coppedge was a lead information technology specialist on the laboratories' Cassini mission to Saturn before his demotion and it suing his employer on the grounds of religious discrimination.
The former NASA worker charges that he was demoted after he voiced his beliefs about intelligent design, the theory that the organization of biological life and the universe indicates the existence of an intelligent cause.
“Employees shouldn’t be threatened with termination and punished for sharing their opinion with willing co-workers just because the view being shared doesn’t fit the prevailing view in the workplace,” said Coppedge’s attorney William Becker, who is allied with the Alliance Defense Fund.