Evolution: Science and Religion

Evolution: Science and Religion In 1895 Charles Darwin published a book describing his theory of evolution, and his theory of the natural selection process. This theory caused much uproar in the religious community because Darwin’s theory went against the story of creation portrayed in the Holy Bible. His theory claimed that all life currently in place had evolved and adapted from a single organism in the beginning. Over time and by process of natural selection only the dominant species were left over while the other, less dominant species, went extinct. His theory, backed by scientific analysis, had dismissed the idea of a single deity creating all life on Earth. It is not like Darwin had a personal agenda against religion or anything, but he did create what would become the main evidence used by atheists to disprove the Bible. Now his theory is still theory, and is yet to be proven as a fact, but is still believed by much of the scientific society as a fact. The struggle between the religious and the atheistic will rage for many years, but where the battle will cause the most damage is in the American school system. The thesis of this paper is, teachers must be required to teach evolution; which is already in place in the American school system, but teachers cannot be allowed to teach evolution as a fact, or evidence disproving the existence of a god. On top of all of that, they must as well allow the expression of opposing viewpoints. In the American school system, there is a constant separation of Church and State. This separation is undisputedly good for keeping the civil rights of students in order. By not allowing the pressures of church in schools, people of power cannot abuse their power for religious preferences. Richard W. Garnett wrote in an article, “.the ‘separation of church and state’ is crucial to any attractive vision of religious freedom (Garnett)”. Teaching children unproven beliefs as a fact is just as bad as the forcing of religious beliefs on a student. In the end, teachers must learn the importance of teaching evolutionary theories as theory only, and never as actual fact. The clash of creationism and evolution has begun once again. On one side sits the Christians and believers of the Holy Bible as a literal piece of history; on the other side sits scientists who dismantle any belief in any sort of God. The battles are not fought physically, but in the court systems of America. In the article “Creationists and The Grand Canyon” found in the Humanist, Glenn Branch talks about how creationists and scientists are fighting for the creation of the Grand Canyon....

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...“The Concept of Gradual Evolution is Flawed.” Creationism vs. Evolution. Ed. By Bruno J. Leone, Ph.D. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2002: 22. Branch, Glenn. A. A. “Creationists and the Grand Canyon.” Humanist. Mar./April 2004: EBSCOhost. Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 14 Oct. 2004 Garnett, Richard W. “Keep it to Yourself.” Commonweal Aug. 13, 2004: EBSCOhost. Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 14 Oct. 2004 Johnson, Matt. Personal Interview. 18 Jan. 2005 Klyce, Brig. “Evolution versus Creationism.” Panspermia. 14 Oct. 2004 Moore, Randy, Jay Hatch, Murray Jensen. “Twenty Questions: What Have the Courts Said about the Teaching of Evolution and Creationism in Public Schools?” Bioscience August 2003: EBSCOhost, Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 29 September 2004 Sheler, Jeffrey. “The Pope and Darwin.” U.S. News and World Report 4 October 1996: EBSCOhost. Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 29 September 2004 Wells, Jonathan. “Elusive Icons of Evolution.” Natural History April 2004: EBSCOhost. Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 14 Oct. 2004.