Creationism In Classroom
Creationism in the classroom
The debate concerning the teaching of creationism in public science classrooms has been raging for decades. This idea is contentious due to the strong religious convictions of its advocates and the equally fervent rationalism that opposes it. Creationism is a doctrine based in faith, and as such cannot be summarily proven or disproven with empirical and reproducible evidence. There is, however, a place for Creationism in the public school system. Creationism has no place in the science curriculum within the public education system, but it can be covered in a humanities course to investigate the distinctions between theology, philosophy, and science.
The word “Creationism” carries different connotations depending …show more content…
Bearing this in mind, science has historically been taught as fact, without providing an outlet for questioning by students. The only context in which a student can object to the veracity of a scientific assertion is if the student is pursuing a graduate degree and conducting their own research. This fact was brought into very public light during and after the famous trial Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. (Crowther). In October of 2004, the Dover Area School District, in Pennsylvania, began requiring that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Prominent in this curricular modification was the mandatory adoption of the textbook Of Pandas and People, a prominent example of literature advocating intelligent design. Upset by the decision, a group of parents successfully sued the school district. The change to the curriculum was overturned on the premise that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This clause prohibits any government body from advocating for or enforcing a specific religious teaching or doctrine. The judge involved in the trial determined that intelligent design was a form of Creationism, and so a religious doctrine which could not receive official endorsement or mandate by the school district, a government …show more content…
Perhaps the most famous example of this early prejudice was the famous Scopes Trial, which took place in Tennessee in 1925. The case involved a law that had recently been passed through the state assembly, known as the Butler Act, prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the public classroom. The American Civil Liberties Union offered to defend anyone charged with breaking the law. A Dayton high school science and math teacher, John T. Scopes, was asked by other locals who opposed the bill if he would agree to be charged with breaking the law under the Butler Act. Scopes agreed, and the trial generated national attention, even being broadcast over the radio. William Jennings Bryan, the nation’s foremost advocate for religious fundamentalism at the time, was on the prosecution team, opposing Clarence Darrow, the most famous criminal defense lawyer also well-known for being an agnostic. While Bryan successfully obtained a conviction of Scopes, it was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court following an appeal. Following the trial, several states saw a concerted effort by fundamentalists to ban the teaching of evolution in public
The debate concerning the teaching of creationism in public science classrooms has been raging for decades. This idea is contentious due to the strong religious convictions of its advocates and the equally fervent rationalism that opposes it. Creationism is a doctrine based in faith, and as such cannot be summarily proven or disproven with empirical and reproducible evidence. There is, however, a place for Creationism in the public school system. Creationism has no place in the science curriculum within the public education system, but it can be covered in a humanities course to investigate the distinctions between theology, philosophy, and science.
The word “Creationism” carries different connotations depending …show more content…
Bearing this in mind, science has historically been taught as fact, without providing an outlet for questioning by students. The only context in which a student can object to the veracity of a scientific assertion is if the student is pursuing a graduate degree and conducting their own research. This fact was brought into very public light during and after the famous trial Kitzmiller, et al. v. Dover Area School District, et al. (Crowther). In October of 2004, the Dover Area School District, in Pennsylvania, began requiring that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to the theory of evolution by means of natural selection. Prominent in this curricular modification was the mandatory adoption of the textbook Of Pandas and People, a prominent example of literature advocating intelligent design. Upset by the decision, a group of parents successfully sued the school district. The change to the curriculum was overturned on the premise that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. This clause prohibits any government body from advocating for or enforcing a specific religious teaching or doctrine. The judge involved in the trial determined that intelligent design was a form of Creationism, and so a religious doctrine which could not receive official endorsement or mandate by the school district, a government …show more content…
Perhaps the most famous example of this early prejudice was the famous Scopes Trial, which took place in Tennessee in 1925. The case involved a law that had recently been passed through the state assembly, known as the Butler Act, prohibiting the teaching of evolution in the public classroom. The American Civil Liberties Union offered to defend anyone charged with breaking the law. A Dayton high school science and math teacher, John T. Scopes, was asked by other locals who opposed the bill if he would agree to be charged with breaking the law under the Butler Act. Scopes agreed, and the trial generated national attention, even being broadcast over the radio. William Jennings Bryan, the nation’s foremost advocate for religious fundamentalism at the time, was on the prosecution team, opposing Clarence Darrow, the most famous criminal defense lawyer also well-known for being an agnostic. While Bryan successfully obtained a conviction of Scopes, it was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court following an appeal. Following the trial, several states saw a concerted effort by fundamentalists to ban the teaching of evolution in public