This is neither the start nor end to this debate. I did a presentation in AP US History and Government this past year on the history of Evolution since 1980 (after the AP exam so we just needed another grade in the books and got to choose our topics). So here is an outline of events since 1980...
**1981:" Equal Time" Bills
Lousiana and Arkansas pass bills that compel high schools teaching evolution to give a balanced treatment to creation science
Arkansas bill alludes to the study of worldwide flood and other events noted in the Bible. Creation science is rooted in the ideas of flood geology.
**1982: McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education
- Rules that creation science fails to meet the essential characteristics of science
Federal court strikes down Arkansas¡¦s recent ¡§equal time¡¨ bill. Most groups testifying against the bill are religious, not scientific, that argue that evolution is the mainstay of biology. Judge William Overton states that creationists ¡§do not take data, weight it against the opposing data, and thereafter reach conclusions.¡¨
**1982: First Gallup Poll
- Americans split evenly between creationism and evolution
- 76% of Americans want to see creationism taught in schools
76% of Americans want to see creationism taught; not necessarily in science class though.
**1987: Supreme Court overturns "Equal time" bill
Overturns Lousiana¡¦s ¡§equal time¡¨ claiming that the bill¡¦s intent is to ¡§restructure the science curriculum to conform with a particular religious viewpoint.¡¨ Also notable in 1987 is Edwards v. Aguillard which said that comprehensive science education is undermined when it is forbidden to teach evolution except when creation science is also taught.
** General Trend in 1980s: Creationism spreads worldwide
Creationism as a principle is spreading worldwide as a movement born in the U.S.
** 1990: DNA Codes offer new evidence of evolution
New technology allows scientists to read the DNA sequence much more easily. Evolutionary scientists now see, at a molecular level, how the DNA of various organisms has changed throughout time as these organisms evolved.
** 1990: Intelligent Design gains ground
If you don't know what Intelligent Design is check here
But basically, Intelligent Design states that the universe came to be by a conscious action by some supreme being and that successive evolutionary advances were also conscious actions.
** 1994-5: Textbook Disclaimers
A requirement by the school board of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana states that whenever evolution is taught, students must be informed that the material is ¡§not intended to influence or dissuade the Biblical version of creation.¡¨ The Alabama Board of Education states that the disclaimer must note evolution as ¡§controversial¡¨ and ¡§a theory, not a fact.¡¨ Calling evolution a theory casts a shadow of doubt onto, what most scientists consider, the well-proven foundation of biology. Also, this label casts a ¡§theory¡¨ as the opposite of a ¡§fact¡¨ rather than a scientific framework supported by facts.
** 1996: Darwin¡¦s Black Box
Author Michael Behe, and Intelligent Design supporter, writes that the living cell is far too complex to have evolved in gradual steps. This book is packed with details on molecular biology yet is criticized by many scientists, including those whose work he cites as evidence against evolution.
** 1996: Pope John Paul II endorses evolution
Calling it ¡§remarkable¡¨
** 1999: Kansas: Battle in the Schools
- Drops evolution from school curricula in a vote of 6-4
- "Big Bang" and references to the Earth as being billions of years old also dropped
Three nationals science organizations sent the Kansas board of education a message stating that if evolution is left out of the science standards, that they will receive no help in creating those standards by denying copyright permission for the Kansas board to reprint section of their national standards.
Other states are encouraged by the decision and look to the Kansas model for how to treat evolution in public schools. A general trend of northern states teaching evolution correctly and southern states not is noticed.
** 1999: Columbine High School
The tragedy at Columbine leads to an outcry that teenagers in America have lost their moral bearings. Republican Congressman Tom Delay of Texas links this moral decay directly to evolution saying, ¡§Our school systems teach children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized out of some primordial soup.¡¨ While outrageous, this expresses a common fear of anti-evolutionists.
** 2000: Science Standards called ¡§reprehensible¡¨
19 US States do ¡§a weak-to-reprehensible job of handling evolution in their science standards.¡¨ 12 States shun the word ¡§evolution¡¨ and 4 avoid topics in evolution completely.
** 2000: Jefferson High School students petition for creationism
Jefferson High School students petition for creationism to be taught in their school. The campaign, which is criticized by the school¡¦s biology teachers, is supported by most students. However, the plea is rejected by the local school board.
** 2001: Gallup Poll
- US still split over evolution
- 57% say creationism best describes human origins
However, many people who chose creationism, do not consider themselves creationists. A great number do not rule out evolution altogether. In 20 years since the last Gallup Poll, public opinion has changed little.
** 2001: Human Genome reveals human evolution
With the ¡§cracking¡¨ of the human genome, scientists, now, more than ever, see how intimately related the human species is to others on earth. Sharing 98% of their genes with chimpanzees and also sharing genes with fruit flies and yeast.
** 2001: New Kansas Board of Ed reverses evolution decision
The new Kansas Board of Education reverses the controversial 1999 decision to ban evolution in Kansas schools.
** 2002: Evolution debate back in Ohio
Ohio State Board struggles to come up with new science standards. Many backers of intelligent design push to have the idea put into state standards. Intelligent design critics claim that this is a disguise for creationism.
Summary: So what progress have we made over the last 22 years?
Not a whole lot. We now have many more facts to support the theory of evolution, but the number of people subscribing to the theory has not increased.
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I figured this post might give some good background to this debate. I find it to be a fascinating topic actually.
By the way, I think that the stickers should be removed from the textbooks, the ACLU is doing the right thing. As noted in my presentation, a theory is a scientific framework supported by facts. So why single out evolution? It's one thing if the textbook companies start off the book with a chapter on vocabulary and include that theories are not facts but rather a scientific framework support by facts, it's another for local school districts to slap a sticker in the book singling out the theory of evolution.
I hope this post was informative.
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