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The Scopes Monkey Trial: The Role Of Religion In Secular Education

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Religion has always been a big part of the American culture however the American constitutional separation between church and state have teethed on the edge of collapse as religious fundamentalists tried to blur the line between the separation. The Scopes “Monkey” Trial brought to the forefront the heated debate in the religious battle to overturn the Butler Act which forbade public schools science curriculum in Dayton, Tennessee from including evolution.
John scopes, a high school biology teacher, employment was suspended for violating the Butler Act, and this brought the American Civil Liberties Union to his defense in part to mount the first legal challenge against the Butler Act, in order to bring to the forefront of national and international debate the role of religion in secular education. The debate has come full circle and is again a hot topic as public educators are confronted with the fundamentalists insisting upon the teaching of religious ideology as part of secular school curriculum and similar demands for prayer and the elimination of the teaching of evolution in public schools. …show more content…

He was arrested, producing The Scopes Trial or The Monkey Trial. The Scopes Trial was a case, which examined John Scopes’ violation of The Butler Act. During this era in America, especially in The Bible Belt region, religion seemed as though it was attached with the law. Going against people’s beliefs and breaking the law, Scopes’ actions were looked upon as extremely controversial. During the trial on Scopes’ side were lawyer Clarence Darrow, a well renowned advocate, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). William Jennings Bryan was an orator who supported the state and its religious

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