Mātauranga Māori: a mix of “religion, ethics, morality, tradition and superstition"

"It is one of the ironies of this election campaign that Chris Luxon is being painted as a religious zealot who will allegedly force Christian beliefs on the nation even as Chris Hipkins is actually introducing mātauranga Māori into education — and most controversially into science.
    "Last week, Chicago University’s Jerry Coyne, one of the world’s pre-eminent evolutionary biologists, described mātauranga Māori as a mix of “religion, ethics, morality, tradition and superstition” with some 'empirical, trial-and-error based knowledge that can be taken as part of science.'

    'It is not a "way of knowing", the professor said, 'but a "Māori way of living".'

    "Over the past two years, Coyne has regularly dissected proposals to insert mātauranga Māori into New Zealand’s science curriculum, and outlined what he sees as the damaging consequences for students and for the international reputation of the nation’s universities as science teaching 'circles the drain.'
    "He entered the debate after a letter on mātauranga Māori and NCEA science titled 'In Defence of Science,' written by seven Auckland University professors, was published in the 'Listener' in July 2021. Two years later, Coyne says he still gets a stream of emails from New Zealand academics and teachers who feel they can’t speak out publicly about mātauranga Māori for fear of losing their jobs.
    "In discussing the topic in depth, Coyne is doing the job New Zealand mainstream media refuses to do."

~ Graham Adams, from his post 'The PM pushes old-time religion'