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How religion affects education
Creation vs evolution debate
How religion affects education
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The Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes but given the nickname “The Monkey Trial”, has been credited as starting the popular legal dispute between evolution and creationism in the court, and its impact in the 20’s was immeasurable.
The interpretation of the case is just as popular, if not more, than the actual result of the case. The worldwide attention and media coverage the case received produced many opinions. Scholar’s opinions range from describing the case as an irrelevancy and a good show to describing it as a “Watershed in American religious history” (Ronald L. Numbers, 1998, p. 76). A large factor in why the Scopes trial has received so much attention in an insignificant town is because of the stage that the trial was played out on.
To begin with, The Butler Act made the Scopes trial all possible. To state it simply, The Butler Act prohibited public schools in Tennessee from teaching Evolution, or to falsify the Biblical story of Creationism.
The Tennessee House of Representatives passed a bill making it unlawful for state-supported schools to teach any theory that denies the story of divine creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals (Numbers, 1998, p. 77).
Put in place in 1925 with virtually no opposition in Tennessee’s Congress, breaking the law resulted in a misdemeanor offense with a fine of $100 to $500. The American Civil Liberties Union – a union that fought for every citizen’s constitutional rights – offered to defend anyone in court who was accused of teaching evolution. The bill was no shock to Tennesseans, “A fellow legislator estimated at the time that no fewer than 95 percent of all Tennesseans oppos...
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...pment” of humans.
“Today in Dayton, they are selling more books on evolution than any other kind and the bookshops in Chattanooga and other cities of the state are hardly able to supply the demand for works on evolution. The trial has at least started people to thinking.” (Lienesch, 2007, p. 168)
Darrow’s interrogation of the scientific credibility of the Bible caught many eyes
Theoretically, fundamentalist had won, for the law stood. But In reality, both sides were neither victorious. They won the fight lost the war. Civilized opinions were convinced by Dayton and the idea of the genesis story of creation and fundamentalism slowly began to drift away. Of course not everyone was convinced, as they store their religion in a science proof container in the brain.
Both sides felt they won.
It is not what the trial accomplished but what the trial represents.
(Pg ix) Godbeer wants the reader to learn and understand that the trial involving Katherine Branch was more accurate and similar to how other witch trials were handled. The judges in this book, take into consideration evidence, and the things they can and can not prove. They also take into consideration what others have to say, but they use it very lightly because people can say whatever they want. They need clear evidence that backs up the accusation.
...gain ruled in favor of the Establishment Clause. These cases include Murray v. Baltimore School Board, Epperson v. Arkansas, and Stone v. Graham. It also set the grounds for the case, Lemon v. Kurtzman, which set up the “Lemon Test” for deciding if a religious function is Constitutional or not.
There were no trials for those who were accused. Everybody simply ignored this. This was simple and clear violation of the constitution and its amendments. This situation had lots of similarities with the Salem witch trials because in both cases none of those accused had a fair trial or a chance to get out of the situation they were in. In both situations most of the time the accused got hanged.
The general court was set on a path to separating the beliefs of the church and the government. Luckily, years later a law would be passed in the Constitution that separates church and state.
In Inherit the Wind, a 1960s film adaptation directed by Stanley Kramer, the battle between religion and science was tested, portrayed through the Scopes Trial of 1925. In the trail, John Scopes, a high school science teacher, was accused and convicted of teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, curriculum that was forbidden by Tennessee state law. It is clear that a focal point of the film was the discussion of whether religion should be the driving force behind education, or if science and empirical study is a better alternative. This discussion is alive and well in 2017, crucial in a time where Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is a known believer in theories of ‘intelligent design,’ a theory that suggests divine guidance in the
Firstly, in the town of Hillsboro teaching the theory of evolution to students was strictly against the law. Bert Cates was in opposition to this idea and, he believed that every student had the right to know about the Origin of species. Teaching the theory of evolution was against the law because it contradicted the teachings
It was a trial about ideas, a contest between traditionalism, the faith of our fathers, and modernism, the idea that we test faith with our intellect. And it had what the New York Times called the most memorable event in Anglo-Saxon court history: Darrow's calling of William Jennings Bryan, the prosecutor, to the stand and examining him on his interpretation of the Bible. Seventy-five years later, this trial has stood the test of time.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) were already aware that the Act was likely to become law because it had been passed by the lower house of the Tennessee legislature by a landslide (in January, 1925). After a few false starts, the ACLU sent a press release to several Tennessee newspapers, such as the Chattanooga Daily Times, announcing that they would provide legal assistance, etc. for a school teacher in Tennessee who would be willing to stand trial for having taught evolution in a public school so that a test case could be mounted to challenge the constitutional validity of the Act.
The Act was put in place in 1925 with almost no opposition in Tennessee’s Congress, if the law were to be broken, the offender would be placed a fine of $100 to $500. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was a union who defended every person’s constitutional rights, offered to defend anyone in court who was accused of teaching evolution in schools. This was to of no shock to the people of Tennessee. ‘A fellow legislator estimated at the time that no fewer than 95 percent of all Tennesseans opposed the teaching of evolution’. Howeve...
Berra, Tim M. Evolution and the Myth of Creationism: A Basic Guide to the Facts in the
The Scopes Trial was a major milestone for Religious Conservatives. The Fundamentalists believed that the Bible is without errors, and to follow the idea’s of Darwin is defying God’s word. William Jennings Bryan was a politician who based his political speeches form Biblical teachings. He became an advocate for the common man and Fundamentalists. When a public school teacher was arrested for the teaching of evolution, Bryan was the prosecutor for the highly publicized trial. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney. Bryan, like most Fundamentalists, believed that the Bible is to be taken literally and not questioned. Darrow called Bryan to the stand and asked him if he believed that there are only 24 hours in the day. Bryan answered yes. Darrow
In 1925, a teacher named John T Scopes was arrested for teaching the Theory of Evolution as this contradicted religion and their beliefs that God created the world.
One of the key aspects that may have led to the initial stages of the trials and ultimate spiral out of control is the religious context of Ne...
In Dayton, Tennessee in May of 1925, John Scopes was prompted by the American Civil Liberties Union (the ACLU) to defy the Butler act, a law that was passed earlier that May. The Act declared it unlawful “for any teacher in any of the Universities, No...
In a typical American high school, Mr. Doe, the science teacher begins his discussion on the theory of evolution. John, a student opposes the idea the humans came from apes and evolved. John believes that men came from God and that man was created in 6 days. Jane hears this and argues against John, “How could anything possibly be created in 6 days? This sort of project would take millions of years!” By using up all 45 minutes of class time discussing creationism and evolution, this is a metaphor to the eternal debate as to the origin of the human species. The question of how man came into existence is one of the great debates of this century. There is not enough evidence to support creationism, yet there is even less to support evolution.