Evolution and Religion.
- Charles Darwin's On the Origin of the Species is published in 1859, thus introducing the world to his revolutinary theory of natural selection and evolution.
- Social conservatives grew tense as the theory of natural selection threatened the traditional Christian ideas such as creation. Parents and religious people alike were concerned that Darwin's theory had been included in some biology textbooks.
- As such, the Christian faith experienced a schism in terms of its ideology and its judgement on science. There were two divisive groups:
Modernists…
-Allowed a place for science in society
-Admitted that the Bible was written by humans -Believed that the Holy Scripture was open to interpretation |
Fundamentalists…
-Resisted change and criticized all aspects of science, and believed that society was declining morally
-Held the Niagara Bible Conference in 1895 -Felt that the idea of strong and weak [i.e. natural selection] would lead to the idea of eugenics |
- Many of the rural area were staunchly fundamentalist, especially in the so-called 'Bible belt'- especially in Tennessee. William Jennings Bryan, the Populist and leader of the anti-evolution movement, delivered many speeches attacking the theory of natural selection and iterating the infallibility of the Bible.
- The Butler Act was passed by the Tennessee state legislature in January of 1925, as seen below...
AN ACT prohibiting the teaching of the Evolution Theory in all the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of Tennessee, which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, and to provide penalties for the violations thereof...That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.
- Some other states in the Bible belt would follow Tennessee's footsteps in prohibiting the teaching of evolution.
- The American Civil Liberties Union, or the ACLU, opposed the Butler bill and the anti-evolution movement. They recruited high-school teacher John Scopes, of Dayton, Tennessee, to be held on trial for violating the Butler Act. Scopes was urged to be put on trial for the violation by the town officials, who saw the trial as a sure-fire way to obtain national interest for Dayton, Tennessee.
Scopes Monkey Trial
- The Scopes Monkey Trial, or formally John Scopes v. State of Tennessee, was heard in July of 1925. Taking place in Dayton, Tennessee, the core of the trial was one simple textbook- A Civic Biology, written by George William Hunter, which included a simple definition of Darwin's theory of natural selection. John Scopes was put on trial in a Dayton court for supposedly teaching evolution to a high school biology class. Clarence Darrow [pictured left] argued for Scopes, while William Jennings Bryan [pictured right] led the prosecution. This small-town court case would eventually turn into a national debate between evolution and fundamentalism.
- Although the state won its case, and John Scopes had to pay off a $100 fine, the Scopes Monkey Trial was a setback for the fundamentalists. Many of the ideological arguments used by Darrow in the defense of science against religion found their way into Northern minds- which slowly became modernized. The debate between evolution and traditional Christian faith still lasts today in the modern world.
- The Scopes Monkey trial was dramatized in the 1960 movie, Inherit the Wind.
- Here is a sample of one of Darrow's most famous argument against the fundamentalist idea of faith, check out the link below, in which Darrow cross-examines a religious witness, an excerpt from Inherit the Wind.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Kdc0LLSW8 (The Age of Rocks testament)