We Didn t Start the Fire: The Origins Science Battle Rages on More Than 75 Years After Scopes

• Author: Arianne Ellerbe
• Pages: 589-612

Page 589

I Introduction

In 1927, the Supreme Court of Tennessee began a battle that rages on more than seventy-five years later when it upheld the constitutionality of a state law that forbade the teaching of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory in public schools.1 ² The statute, referred to as the Tennessee "Monkey Law," made illegal the teaching of "any theory that denies the story of the divine creation of man as taught in the Bible," including those theories that taught "that man has descended from a lower order of animals."³ The Scopes trial serves as a central event for the fundamentalist-modernist controversy, pitting the American Civil Liberties Union against Christian church leaders and scholars.⁴ Although the "Monkey Laws" were not found unconstitutional until nearly forty years later,⁵ Scopes left an indelible mark on American education, which would lead to future reform of public school curricula.⁶

Constitutional debate often centers on the place of religion and religious ideas in American society and government. Cases involving such debates will likely reach the United States Supreme Court this term. Recent legal battles include Newdow v. United States Congress, argued recently before the United States Supreme Court, which involves whether the speaking of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools serves to violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.⁷ The Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower federal court ruling that Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore acted impermissibly when he placed a large sculpture of the Ten Commandments in front of the Alabama Supreme Court building and defied a federal court order to remove the sculpture.⁸ Such cases illustrate a continuous battle over the "separation of church and state," a concept Thomas Jefferson first articulated in his letter on the First Amendment, but which has Page 590 continually served as the cornerstone of constitutional debate regarding the Establishment Clause throughout America's history.⁹

America's public education system has been and remains a fertile ground for Establishment Clause debate and controversy, in particular with respect to the arena of biological science instruction, often called "origins science."¹⁰ Since Scopes, the debate over the teaching and discussion of origins science in America's classrooms has peaked and waned but remains alive and well today across the country. For example, the 1999 decision of the Kansas Board of Education to exclude evolution from statewide competency tests renewed a furor over the somewhat dormant issue.¹¹ Although the Board reversed itself three years later, the initial decision remains a bone of contention between educators and activists.¹² In response to a parent's lawsuit attacking the school system's inclusion of a disclaimer regarding evolution in science textbooks, the Cobb County Georgia school board voted in September 2002 to allow science teachers to present various theories about the origins of life, a dispute which continues currently.¹³ Also in 2002, the Ohio state board of education began adopting a philosophy toward "teaching the controversy" regarding alternate origins theories and, on March 9, 2004, formally adopted a model lesson plan on the "Critical Analysis of Evolution" by a thirteen to five vote, a move which is sure to draw criticism from many angles.¹⁴

The objectives of the American education system and Supreme Court jurisprudence leave the door open for the teaching of competing origins theories within the confines of the Constitution if certain criteria are met. This article will illustrate how alternative origins theories may pass constitutional muster as well as state science curriculum standards such that the theories might be presented in the context of a science classroom. Part II of this comment provides an overview of the foundational debate regarding Page 591 origins science instruction in public schools. Part III reviews the progression of Establishment Clause and Academic Freedom jurisprudence with respect to academic settings. Part IV discusses other concepts and provisions that might guide Louisiana lawmakers and educators.

II A Hot Topic-Origins Science Instruction

A Debating the Origins of Life

The modern evolutionary view is based primarily on the research of Charles Darwin, who published "Origin of the Species" in 1859, revolutionizing the field of biology.¹⁵ However, the theory of evolution and related concepts originate as early as ancient Greece and subsequently became formalized by European scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries.¹⁶ The theory states that all life forms, including humans, developed gradually over several million years through natural selection, meaning the organisms best adapted to their environment survive above others.¹⁷ Evolutionary teaching is currently the leading scientific theory of origins,¹⁸ and the scientific community generally believes evolution to be the most accurate and rational description of how life on Earth began.¹⁹

The creation theory similarly dates back to ancient times, as the view finds its origins in the traditional teachings of Judaism and Christianity, namely, the first chapter of the biblical book of Genesis.²⁰ Many who espouse a belief in the theory of creation also believe in "micro" evolution, which holds that life forms change over time, "genetically[,] within certain parameters."²¹ However, creationists generally reject a belief in "macro" evolution, which holds that higher life forms, such as humans, originated from significantly more basic life forms, such as amoeba.²² The creationist view states that the Earth and most of its life forms, rather, developed instantly by the word of a Deity.²³ Proponents of this religiously- Page 592 based teaching generally believe that life on Earth began 6,000 years ago and that the development of Earth's life forms spanned six days.²⁴ While the theory of creation is related to religious beliefs, many argue that scientific, factual, testable evidence supports it.²⁵

Intelligent Design, another alternative origins theory, has also gained some notoriety and acceptance in the last few years. Supporters of Intelligent Design claim the theory is supported by extensive scientific research as well as logical scientific observation, despite its relatively new development.²⁶ The theory, referred to as "ID," holds that living things are too irreducibly complex to have occurred through random genetic changes and, therefore, must have been "designed" by some intelligent agent.²⁷ Proponents claim the theory is scientifically based and argue that they do not suggest the nature of the intelligence, though some have found this a basis for belief in a god or other related explanations. Intelligent design theorists also generally accept that the Earth is billions of years old.²⁸The teaching of ID as an alternative origins theory has found support in some American school systems and has been incorporated into science curricula in both Ohio and Georgia.²⁹ No court has, as of yet, addressed the constitutionality or the scientific validity of teaching the ID theory, although such litigation could soon surface.

According to a 1999 Gallup poll, a majority of Americans think public schools should teach creationism.³⁰ Many of those individuals think creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the context of a science classroom.³¹ A more recent People for the American Page 593 Way survey found that nearly seventy percent of Americans see no conflict between the theories of evolution and creation as explanations for how life began,³² indicating that Americans on average will not feel particularly threatened or religiously influenced by the teaching of multiple origins theories. Yet, despite the apparent popular sentiment regarding the different theories, lawmakers, educators, and scientists continue to debate origins science curriculum and teaching. On one side of the fray are those who hold unswervingly to the creation theory and argue that evolution runs in direct opposition to a belief in divine creation.³³ At the other end of the spectrum are those who argue that "creationism has no place in public schools because it is not science," but rather, is entirely religious doctrine with no scientific basis or value.³⁴ Caught in the crossfire are individuals who argue that schools must "teach the controversy" that continues to rage regarding origins science in order to allow students to learn leading and minority origins theories and to think critically regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the various views presented.³⁵

B Defining "Science"

In order to accurately determine whether the teaching of a particular subject matter is permissible under the Constitution, one must first explore the legal definition of science. Opponents of the teaching of alternative origins theories often argue that theories other than Darwin's theory of evolution are unscientific and do not qualify as science. However, this argument, though not without merit, may be refuted in light of more recently accepted Supreme Court and contemporary definitions of science. In McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education,³⁶ a federal court adopted a five-point definition of science that provides criteria for determining whether a theory qualifies as scientific based on the testimony of a well-known Darwinian philosopher...