Although John Scopes and his famous "Monkey Trial" strongly influenced the ongoing evolution-creationism controversy, relatively little is known about Scopes's post-trial life. Moreover, many questions about his trial remain unanswered (e.g., did he actually teach evolution in Dayton?). This paper answers these questions with new…

In "Kitzmiller v. Dover" (2005), a court defined science to decide the legitimacy of teaching intelligent design to high school biology students. This study analyzes "Kitzmiller" in light of the complex and interrelated tensions between judicial, scientific, and democratic decision making that lie at the heart of modern…

College honors courses provide an opportunity to tackle controversial topics in an atmosphere that encourages active learning, critical thinking, and open discussion. This venue is particularly appropriate for examining the debate about teaching intelligent design (ID) in public school science classes. A one-credit honors enrichment seminar taught…

A review of the major legal cases concerning the curricular debate over evolution and creationism shows how the courts, in recent cases, have applied fundamental constitutional principles in a way that preserves both intellectual freedom and freedom of belief. (CM)

Discusses the educational and political aftermath of the 1968 Epperson v. Arkansas ruling that laws banning the teaching of evolution were unconstitutional, and made it unconstitutional to ban the instruction of one theory and not the other. Reviews past and present court rulings as well as the role of creationists in the United States. (CCM)

The author of this article was surprised to read in the December 21, 2005, Ann Arbor News that "The Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, which represented the Dover [Pennsylvania] School District in its federal case for the teaching of intelligent design, has threatened to sue Gull Lake [Michigan] Community Schools over its policy that…

This article is concerned with those freedoms inherent in successful science teaching and summarizes recent actions to insure the continuance of those freedoms. The controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution in schools is discussed in detail, with emphasis on educational positions and legal actions. (MA)

The inclusion of evolution as a topic in secondary school biology texts is examined in detail. The recent upsurge of mandates by the creationists is discussed with respect to current scientific knowledge and religious theology. Reasons for the exclusion of creationism in the biology curriculum are justified. (MA)

Politics and science have become too much entangled in the controversy over creationism and the teaching of evolution in the public schools. Political opinion is irrelevant when the scientific principles underlying a particular issue are being discussed. (MSE)

The recent flap over the Kansas State Board of Education's decision to drop knowledge of evolution theory from its science standards has rekindled the perennial science/religion debate in education. This article examines mutual relationships of three knowledge structures (science, mainstream religion, and fringe beliefs) and the middle-ground's…

The forces seeking to subject the theory of evolution to greater criticism tasted both victory and defeat. Kansas officials approved an overhaul of their state science standards to do just that, while voters in a rural Pennsylvania district ousted advocates of "intelligent design" from the school board. Those two high-profile battles…

In 1925, Williams Jennings Bryan, a former congressman from Nebraska and a former Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson, spent two agonizing weeks defending his religious faith that cost him his life a month after. Bryan was a prosecutor of high school teacher John Scopes, who had violated Tennessee state law by teaching the theory of evolution.…

Some court cases and legislative bills have been filed in states to legalize the use of the creationist view (of life forms on earth) in biology textbooks superseding the organic theory of evolution. The law has not yet accepted the religious viewpoint. (PS)

The issues of science, religion, and the U.S. Constitution continued in 1979 in a creationist's Superior Court complaint against the teaching of evolutionary theory. The legal strategies by the adversaries were as significant as the arguments; and, in this case, academicians' scholarship was at a disadvantage in the courtroom. (Author/CM)

Describes the case of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) versus the state of Arkansas concerning this state's law requiring equal time for the teaching of creationism and evolution. ACLU contends this law violates the separation of church and state clause of the First Amendment. (DS)