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allowing creationism in public schools
allowing creationism in public schools
allowing creationism in public schools
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Creation and Evolution in Public Schools
On October 28, 2010, Christine O’Donnell, the Delaware U.S. Senate Candidate, posed the question “Where in the Constitution is ‘Separation of Church and State’?” O’Donnell was making a point in a debate that took place in front of a law school audience (Madison). The law students laughed at her seemingly silly question, but the joke was on them. The term “separation of church and state” never appears in the Constitution. In many court cases relating to teaching creation in public schools, the First Amendment is always cited, the separation of church and state is often questioned, and creation is ruled as unconstitutional (Raloff). Evolution has become the only acceptable theory to explain the origins of the Earth and human life. Because of this, students are being indoctrinated with only one idea of how life came to be. To stop the bias and protect academic freedom in science classrooms, creation should be taught alongside evolution in public schools. Until 1963, creation was taught in science classrooms, but when evolution became an accepted scientific theory to explain the origin of life, it became the root of controversy in the system of public education. The state of Tennessee instituted the Butler Act in 1925, which prohibited public school teachers from denying the biblical account of creation. In the same year, John Thomas Scopes, a high school substitute teacher, taught the theory of evolution in his classes and was charged with violating the Butler Act (Pierce). This charge led to the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. The American Civil Liberties Union came to the scene to back the defense of Scopes in a case that would be the beginning of publicizing scientific evidence for evolution.
The controversy over teaching creationism in public schools has been ongoing for decades. The debate is not just about science, but also about religion and politics. The beliefs of world religions about evolution vary, and some religious groups believe that evolution is compatible with their faith (Robinson). However, many Christians believe that the theory of evolution contradicts the biblical account of creation. The Bible states that God created the world in six days, and this belief is fundamental to many Christians. The case for a Creator: a journalist investigates scientific evidence that points toward God by Lee Strobel is an example of a book that argues for the existence of God based on scientific evidence.
In conclusion, the debate over teaching creationism in public schools is complex and multifaceted. The First Amendment is often cited in court cases relating to this issue, and the separation of church and state is often questioned. Evolution has become the only acceptable theory to explain the origins of the Earth and human life, and creation is often ruled as unconstitutional. However, to protect academic freedom in science classrooms, creation should be taught alongside evolution in public schools.
Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron, “Teaching Theories: The Evolution-Creation Controversy,” The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 44, No. 7 (Oct…1982). This article, written by Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron sheds light on the controversy of evolution vs creationism in schools and the validity of each being called a scientific theory. The work was created to answer the questions, “Which of these theories is truly scientific and which is a religious belief? Which should be taught in schools?” The article concluded in favor of evolution as a valid scientific theory that should be taught rather than creationism, but also mentioned the worth of understanding the latter.
The Scopes trial, writes Edward Larson, to most Americans embodies “the timeless debate over science and religion.” (265) Written by historians, judges, and playwrights, the history of the Scopes trial has caused Americans to perceive “the relationship between science and religion in . . . simple terms: either Darwin or the Bible was true.” (265) The road to the trial began when Tennessee passed the Butler Act in 1925 banning the teaching of evolution in secondary schools. It was only a matter of time before a young biology teacher, John T. Scopes, prompted by the ACLU tested the law. Spectators and newspapermen came from allover to witness whether science or religion would win the day. Yet below all the hype, the trial had a deeper meaning. In Summer for the Gods, Edward Larson argues that a more significant battle was waged between individual liberty and majoritarian democracy. Even though the rural fundamentalist majority legally banned teaching evolution in 1925, the rise of modernism, started long before the trial, raised a critical question for rural Americans: should they publicly impose their religious beliefs upon individuals who believed more and more in science.
The concept of creationism has a strong religious history and very deep religious overtones, and the constitutionality of teaching the subject in a public school immediately was questioned. Called to preside over the resulting legal case was U.S. District Judge William Overton. Thu...
The Scopes Trial, which was also known as ‘The Monkey Trial’ or The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes, was a very popular legal dispute in court that was between the theory of evolution and creationism, and played a major role which shaped the 1920’s. What was just as popular was the interpretation of the case, if not more than the actual result of the dispute. This case received world-wide attention and the media coverage produced many different opinions world-wide. A major factor of why the Scopes trial had received so much attention in such an insignificant town was because of the stage the trial was played out on. The Butler Act is what made the Scopes trial possible. The Butler Act stated that it was prohibited for public schools in Tennessee from teaching evolution, or to go against the words of the Biblical story of creationism. The Act made it ‘unlawful for any teacher in in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the state which are supported in whole or in part by the public funds of the state, to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible and to teach instead that man has described from lower order of animals’.
Price, Tom. "Science and Religion: Can Their Conflicts Be Resolved?" Science and Religion: Can Their Conflicts Be Resolved? 23.12 (2013): 281-304. Print.
Sarfati, Jonathan D. Refuting Evolution: A Response to the National Academy of Sciences' Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science. Green Forest, AR: Master, 1999. Print.
Le Beau, Bryan F. "Science and Religion: A Historical Perspective on the Conflict over Teaching Evolution in the Schools." EbscoHost. MARHO, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. .
Ham, Ken. "Creation in public schools?!." answers in genesis. N.p., 2002. Web. 7 Nov 2010.
The twentieth century has witnessed the escalation of the creation - evolution debate through famous court cases and Supreme Court decisions on the teaching of evolution in public schools, culminating most recently in a Kansas Board of Education decision. As this highly controversial issue of the teaching of evolution in American classrooms rages on, it may be difficult for some individuals of Christian faith to form an alternative belief other than the extremes of creationism and evolutionism. Before discussing this issue any further, when I refer to strict beliefs in creationism or evolution as extreme views I am not necessarily implying that they are wrong, but are simply two views on completely opposite sides of the creation - evolution debate spectrum. For some creationists, accepting God as Creator as told in the Book of Genesis means the simultaneous rejection of evolutionary theory. For some evolution believers, accepting evolution ultimately results in the replacement of God as Creator with the process of evolution.
Since the time that teaching evolution in public schools was banned as heresy and taboo for contradicting the Bible, most public school systems today take an opposite approach in which creationism is seldom ta...
The “establishment” or “religion” clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” (Education Week, 2003, para. 2). It is from this clause that the idea of separation of church and state comes. It is also the basis for much of the debate regarding the practice of religion in public schools (Education Week, 2003). One of the big questions regarding the religion issue is where to draw the line between separation of church and state and religious freedom. The practice of religion in public schools can balance these two ends by allowing students to individually exercise their religious freedom, so long as they do not interfere with that of other students.
Evolution and Intelligent Design being taught in public schools is a growing controversy. Both supporters and augmenters have been clashing over different perspectives on wither intelligent design should replace evolution as part of the scientific curriculum. The controversy has lead to multiple court cases and religious dispute. The main issue when it comes to teaching this idea of science in our schools is the idea of conforming to an idea without solid evidence. Students whom are required to learn intelligent design rather than Darwin’s idea of evolution will be directly confronted on their moral and religious beliefs. In addition, students will develop a less understanding of science.
In the uncertainty that the modern world is, there is one law that stays petrified in stone no matter what happens: “Things change with age.” No matter if it is in history, science, or even Pokémon, things change as time passes by and this process is called evolution. The theory formulated by Charles Darwin is the belief that all organisms have come from earliest creatures because of external factors (“NSTA…”). School boards everywhere have accepted the theory of Evolution as fact making it essential to be in the curriculums of science classrooms. However, over the years, controversy has arisen as the fact that is evolution is still only a theory with flaws and setbacks, efficiently making other theories (i.e. intelligent design) a viable alternate in the classroom. The law, on the other hand, had a different idea about these other theories with numerous bans them from schools, claiming them to be against the second amendment. Despite the bitter debate of rather or not it is valid and right for teaching (primarily alone) the theory of evolution lies as being the most reliable and accurate way to teach how the modern world came to be.
Then on July 21, 1925, John Scopes violated Butler Act, which brings on the “Scopes Monkey Trial” (ProQuest Staff). The “Scopes Monkey Trial” took place in Dayton Tennessee later that year (Pegler). This was the first trial to debate evolution vs. religion. William Jennings Bryan was the prosecution, arguing for religion, and Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney, arguing for evolution (Pegler). Bryan believed that the Earth is about 4,145 years old (Pegler). Clarence Darrow, however, suggested that there were people in China about 5,000 years ago (Pegler). In December 1970, the last ban of teaching evolution was overturned (ProQuest Staff). This was 45 years after the “Scopes Monkey Trial.” This trial played a major role in changing the viewpoints of people and overturning the ban teaching evolution in
Evolution & creationism court cases - History of evolution court cases. New York Times Company. 2011. http://www.about.com Accessed September 25, 2011.