US Courts Advance Evolution
by Rit NosotroChange Over Time essay
Trace the change over time of court rulings regarding the teaching of evolution in USA public schools.
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Summary:
Since Darwin published his book, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, the controversy over creation versus evolution has raged. The resulting question of what public school teachers can and should teach regarding these two theories of life's origins has plagued America for years, and the battle continues to rage today. Court cases in the last century moved from supporting teaching solely creationism to upholding the presentation of evolution as a scientific fact.
The Scopes "Monkey" Trial of 1925 proved the first and most famous of the landmark cases in this ongoing debate. Highly publicized and transformed into a national spectacle by the media, the designers of this case intended for it to serve as a test of Tennessee's new Butler Law, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools. Upset by the law, despite the general belief that the state would not enforce it1, the American Civil Liberties Union resolved to test its constitutionality in court.
George Rappelyea, who wished to put the town of Dayton on the map, convinced a high school football coach and substitute biology teacher, John Scopes, to stand trial for violating the law. Famous defense attorney and agnostic Clarence Darrow volunteered his services to Scopes. William Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential candidate and Christian who held to a literal interpretation of the Bible, volunteered to assist the prosecution. Following a twelve-day trial in the stifling heat, accompanied by a carnival-like atmosphere, the jury found Scopes guilty, and the judge fined him 100 dollars. Although the Tennessee Supreme Court rescinded the fine on a technicality, the Butler Law stood. The Scopes Trial first highlighted the issue of teaching evolution in public schools. It also caused evolution to recede from the classroom and textbooks until the 1960s.2
In the1960s evolution returned to schools with force. The National Science Foundation encouraged the teaching of evolution in high school curriculum.3 1962 saw the U.S. Supreme Court forbid states to prohibit the teaching of the theory of evolution. However, as the theory became more widely taught, creationists refused to remain silent. For example, the Creation Research Society, which publishes a peer-reviewed journal, was founded in 1963. Then, in 1970, creationists founded the Institute for Creation Research. Eventually, various court cases would revisit the issue of evolution in schools.
In 1981 such a case appeared. McLean vs. Arkansas struck at an Arkansas law requiring teachers to devote equal time to creation and evolution.4 Once again, the ACLU brought the challenge, calling the law unconstitutional. The ACLU argued that creation science was merely religion, that the law limited academic freedoms, and that the law was too vague.5 Judge William Overton ruled the law unconstitutional. Courts in Louisiana decided to strike down a similar act, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 1987. In 1987 the high court also declared that states cannot mandate the teaching of creationism in schools.6
This year, 2005, another case has indicated how far court support has shifted toward evolution. In Texas, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper ruled it unconstitutional for schools to place stickers on their science textbooks with a disclaimer stating that, "Evolution is a theory not a fact, regarding the origin of living things," and asking students to approach it with an "open mind." This represents a major shift in the position of the courts in this century, which moved from tolerating laws forbidding the teaching of evolution to forbidding schools to even question evolution in their curriculum. As the Bible says in 2 Peter 3:5, "they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water." Unfortunately, the teaching of evolution in public schools has and will continue to influence the development of our culture greatly by encouraging students to reject the truth of God's word.
1 Lyndsey McCabe, <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/inherit/1925home.html> (1 April, 2005).
2 Jeanine Denoma, "The Trials of Evolution," <http://www.o4r.org/pf_v1n3/TrialsEvol.htm> (1 April, 2005).
3 B.A. Robinson, A Brief History of Conflict Between Evolution and Creation Science, <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_hist.htm> (1 April, 2005).
4 B.A. Robinson.
5 Jeanine Denoma.
6 Jeanine Denoma.
7 Jim Brown, "Court Ruling Rips 'Evolution as Theory' Stickers from Science
Texts, 13 January, 2005 <http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/132005b.asp>
(1 April, 2005).
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