Creationism in Public Schools

The main desire is that creation be given the same time as evolution to be presented as a possible theory on the beginnings of this universe. Many people feel that creation sc... ... middle of paper ... ... has become, for all potential purposes, the official state religion promoted in the public schools" (Morris iii). Conclusion This issue may never end up being resolved. States have passed laws pertaining to the teaching of creation, but these laws have ended up being ruled illegal by the federal courts. The real issue may not be if creationism is scientific, or if it is religious.

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.

Second, creation is assumed to be strictly a religious concept, which on that account has no place in a public school curriculum” (Morris). In hindsight, both of these disputes happen to be incorrect. Deal... ... middle of paper ... ...ical. Next the McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education had a law that enforced public schools to give both creation-science and evolution equal treatment. It was said that “Creation-Science” is not actually a science, but strictly religious.

However, the moral implications are far deeper. In order to begin to claim the right to teach evolution, it is imperative that we understand the creationist side. Adam Laats argues: "If we hope to understand creationism, we need to abandon the trope that only the ignorant can oppose mainstream evolutionary science.” The stigma associated with creationism is that it is an "anti-science." It is important to not be drawn into the argument from the viewpoint that it is simply between religion and science. Laats explains that the notion that those who oppose evolution are not knowledgeable in science is ignorant in itself.

Science vs. Religion The question as to whether or not religion belongs in a science classroom is a very complex and difficult question. Religion can be looked at from different angles, starting from its validity. Despite the lack of evidence to support the idea of creationism, that in itself is not enough to warrant its exclusion from schools. I don't think students should be told who or what to believe in, but they should acquire enough knowledge on both subjects in order to think and make the decision for themselves.

In the trial, Clarence Darrow argued that teaching creationism in public schools defies the separation of church and state (which is pulled from the first amendment). Darrow moved on to say that evolution does not disobey the first amendment. The trial denied all public schools the right to teach creationism-a belief that humans were created by a higher being-although evolution may be taught. However, Darrow's claim is being challenged. Many believe evolution disobeys the first amendment.

It was not until recently with the rise of scientific reason and equal rights organizations did these teachings become questioned. The argument spurs from each person’s personal belief, and that is where things get complicated. To successfully teach creationism in public schools, you have to decided a definitive creationism story to base it on, and with Christianity, this is a problem. Protestant fundamentalists will interpret the Bible as literally as possible. While Catholics and Orthodox Jews will interpret it as they see fit.

In order for the act to not violate the constitution, the court had to determine whether or not there was a 'secular legislative purpose' (20). Caudill believes that the court had “the presumption that creationism was wholly religious and the corollary presumption that evolution was not” (35) and this directly effected the... ... middle of paper ... ...s a concept that was created to protect peoples' religious freedom and it is important that it stays in tact. Despite efforts to prove otherwise, creationism is inherently an attempt to impose religious ideologies onto the public. If the creationists truly only had the intention to educate people about an alternative scientific theory, why would they want to take down the competition? Unless creationists somehow manage to take out the religious motives of their ideology, they need to accept the fact that it will probably never be taught as an independent subject in public schools.

Evolution is one of the most thoroughly examined and most widely supported ideas in science. Yet, it still remains a controversial topic when taught in school (Dean 1). Evolution can contradict certain religious ideologies, which can be offensive to members of those faiths. Teaching evolution often clashes with the right to freedom of religion in particular, which ensures that the government cannot make any law supporting an establishment of religion (Establishment Clause) or impeding the free exercise of religion thereof (Free Exercise Clause). The United States has been predominantly Christian in its history, and as a result of this creationism was a regular part of the school curriculum without question; but, after Charles Darwin discovered evolution, it came to replace creationism as the regularly taught explanation for how life developed on earth.

Both of the creationisms are theories. Religious creationism might be considered as blind faith because no proofs are given but it focuses on what has been thought since always, instead, scientific creationism has proofs and explanations of what has been happening depending on Earth’s changes and the nature. Religious creationism starts with the inception of a supreme being also named God, and scientific creationism starts with the Hadean eon. People who think that Earth was made by God believe in this because of their faith in him and his word. Religious theory of creationism is hypothetical since it is considered possible without having proofs to verify it.