Creationism In Public Schools Essay

Clash between science and religion started way before Charles Darwin published his piece of scientific literature titled On the Origin of the Species. The most famous debate about science and religion was the Galileo Affair in the early 17th century that was due to the publishing of a book, Dialogue, which supported the Copernican theory that the earth revolved around the sun rather than what the Bible suggested---the absolute opposite. Although this debate sparked controversy, schools continued to teach the Book of Genesis as the origin of life until Darwin introduced his scientific theories that became widely accepted in the late 1800s. Over time, the Supreme Court challenged cases such as the Scopes Trial and Epperson v. Arkansas that

Teaching creationism in public schools violates a student’s freedom of religion, which is presented as the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” (U.S. Constitution. Amend. I, Sec. 1). This statement existing in the U.S. Constitution ensures that public schools will remain a place that accepts all religions, including Atheism. Also, the public schools system will not tolerate religious discrimination of any sort. Lessons on Creationism would mainly focus on a single religious viewpoint; therefore this would be unfair to those of other faiths such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Deism because these religions reject many of the principles of the typical creationist belief. Students who choose to attend public school are entitled to an atmosphere free of these theological discussions. Advocates for Creationism in public schools share similar religious views on the world and its foundation and they aspire to incorporate the ideas of God and Creation in science courses or exclude them entirely from the national curriculum. This approach, however, would disobey the First Amendment's protection from state authority that wants to advance a religious