THE BATTLE AGAINST EVOLUTION IN TODAYS TAX PAYER FUNDED SCHOOLS
It was more than 200 years ago that Charles Darwin formulated the scientific theory of evolution by natural selection, published in his book On the Origin of Species (1859). Then it was the The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes case of 1925, also known as the "Scopes Trial" that brought national attention to whether evolution or biblical creationism should be taught in public schools in America. In this legal case, a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 (which was the equivalent of $1,349 at the time). However, the verdict was overturned on a technicality. Yet the trial still served its purpose of bringing national publicity to the issue.
In the 1930's the the anti-evolution movement eventually died out. Then it was in 1958 that the National Defense Education Act was passed with the encouragement of many legislators who feared that America was falling behind the Soviet Union. The act yielded textbooks, produced in cooperation with the American Institute of Biological Sciences, which stressed the importance of evolution as the unifying principle of biology.
So is the debate over? Surprisingly not. Today there are still many voices advocating for the words of the bible to be taught as text-book science in lieu of the theory of evolution. They want to use American tax dollars to teach children "creationism" as science. Creationism is the belief that all life originated from specific acts of divine creation. For "Young Earth Creationists," this includes a biblically literal interpretation of the genesis creation narrative, and the rejection of the scientific theory of evolution. Today the American Scientific Affiliation recognizes that there are different opinions among creationists on the specific method of creation, but they all are consistent with an Abrahamic, biblical vision.
These Young Earth Creationists believe that the universe and all life on Earth was created in the relatively short time period of 5,700 - 10,000 years. (Keep in mind that accepted science currently puts the age of the universe at approximately 15 billion). They base this estimate off literal dates and verses in the bible.
While this seems like a fanatic view, there are many Americans who agree with parts of this (Gallup Poll).
There are also public schools, and publicly funded charter schools in America that are teaching creationism as an alternative to evolution. In Tennessee and Louisiana, it is permitted by law for public schools to teach creationism. The states which permit publicly funded charter schools to teach creationism are Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. (A Map of Thousands of Schools That Are Allowed to Teach Creationism With Tax Payer Money).
However, in light of these facts, one might say "What is the big deal?" "It's only a theory." However, as American school children fall behind their competitors around the globe in the fields of math and science, this becomes a very big deal indeed. As a nation, will we be able to keep up with scientific research and development if we're teaching the bible as science instead of actual science? The difference between the bible and a scientific text book, is that the bible is a narrative that was formed in the Bronze Ages. A scientific text book is based on tested and proven observations formed in the modern era. In 1958 the American government was concerned with not falling behind the Soviet Union. Yet today are we not also concerned about falling behind?
How are we as nation going to deal with the threat of climate change if we are going to teach our children to believe in stories as science - rather than tangible measured data from the physical world? How are we going to advance in the fields of medicine, when we don't believe in evolution - such as the evolution that takes place in the development of diseases, viruses and vaccines? How are we going to keep up in the development and research of alternative energy resources, military technology, transportation, space exploration and the betterment of the human condition?
Our children are our future. What we teach them matters. Do we want to be living in the Bronze Ages or the Modern Era? If we teach a book from the Bronze Ages as science, then the answer to that question becomes quite clear.
CREATIONISM
What Do Creationists Believe? (Answers in Genesis)
Creationism (Rational Wiki)
A Map of Thousands of Schools That Are Allowed to Teach Creationism With Tax Payer Money (Slate, 1-26-14)
Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism (Slate, 1-16-14)
On Darwin’s 200th Birthday, Americans Still Divided About Evolution (Pew Research Center, 2-5-09)
CHALLENGES TO CREATIONISM AND INTELLIGENT DESIGN
"Intelligent Design" is Religious Argument, not Science, Say Parents (ACLU, 12-14-04)
ACLU History: Maintaining the Wall of Freedom: Freedom of - and from - religion
Parents, Scientists Testify in Court on Major Flaws in "Intelligent Design" (ACLU, 10-13-05)