The Controversy of Evolution

Evolution is a fundamental component of the biological sciences as well as one of the most controversial scientific theories. On the one hand, evolution simply refers to the change of a population over time. Therefore, the theory of evolution advocates that humans share a common ancestry with other organisms and differ from such organisms due mainly to natural selection and descent with modification, that is the natural process that cause change in traits of an organism and passing down these altered traits to their offspring, both processes which will be discussed in more detail in a future blog.

However, the idea of a drastic change over long periods of time contradicts the religious beliefs that God created men and women as they are today. The theory of evolution is highly accepted in most industrial countries, yet, it remains a controversial issue in certain countries, including the United States, with the main opposition coming from religious groups that advocate “creationism.” Creationism, on the other hand, refers to the belief that the world as we know it, particularly the complexity that is evident, can only be explained by supernatural forces. In simple terms, creationism indicates the belief that God created the world.

The conflict between advocates of evolution and advocates of creationism resulted in the Scopes Trial, a landmark case in 1925, in which a biology teacher, John Scopes, was charged with violating Tennessee’s Butler Act which prohibited “to teach any theory that denies the Story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” The Scopes “monkey” Trial was a fierce contest between the prosecutors represented by William Jennings Bryan, a three time presidential Democratic candidate, and Clarance Darrow, the defense attorney, who represented Scopes. Thus, the Scopes Trial drew intense national attention as the theological battle between advocates of science and fundamentalist.

Scopes was found guilty under Tennessee law but the verdict was overturned on a technicality. In 1968, nonetheless, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Epperson v Arkansas that “such bans contravene the Establishment Clause because their primary purpose is religious” and, therefore, allowed schools to teach evolution as we learn it today.