Monday, November 7, 2011

Marking Period 2: Monday #1

The opinion was taken from this article.  Despite its appearance on the Gale database, a cornucopia of grammatical errors suggests this source may not entirely credible (or perhaps he is lacking a discerning editor.)

Since Darwin's trip to the Galapagos Islands almost three centuries ago, the concept of Evolutionism has battled Creationism for recognition in the public eye.  In particular, this debate today still rages in schools.  Jack Wellman, an author who is also a Christian, wrote in 2010 that teaching Evolutionism in schools is not a violation of the separation of church and state, specifically in the context of court case Edwards v. Aguillard.  Wellman begins with the statement that it was never mentioned in an official document that there should be a separation of church and state; rather, it was an idea of Jefferson's to counter England's style of government, in which the state was the church.  He points out that the Supreme Court has made it clear we can't legally refuse to teach either theory.  Directly quoting the First Amendment, "Congress cannot pass any law concerning a religion or establishing a religion; and cannot pass any law that prevents the free exercise of religion."

In Edwards v. Aguillard in 1987, the case concerned Louisiana's "Creationism Act," which forbade the teaching of Evolutionism unless Creationism was taught as well.  The District Court and the Court of Appeals agreed the act went against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  In this case, it was also announced a variety of ideas taught from a secular perspective in schools could enhance the effectiveness of the teaching of science and would allow students to form their own opinions, with which Wellman agrees.  In short, Wellman thinks the Constitution guarantees Evolutionism is not a violation of church and state and that both theories would allow students to decide for themselves.

No comments:

Post a Comment