Edwards V. Aguillard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Edwards V. Aguillard - Research Paper Example From these experiments and results, it was found logically to say that man evolved from apes. Theories were created that proved these points. Then another science came into view: the creation science. With the creation science, it was argued that man was created by a supreme being, and that was the origin that proved somewhat true. Over the years, scholars have argued about the existence and origin of man. Some have supported the evolution theory while others have supported the creation science. In this particular essay, attention will be focused on a case that was ruled by the supreme court in 1987. It was between Edwards and Aguillard. Edwards supported the evolution theory while Aguillard supported the creation science theory. By the end of it all, the court had ruled that both creation science and evolution be taught in public schools. A law was created for this purpose, which received much opposition from schools that were affected by this law. The argument was that if creationi sm was taught in public schools, it would be unconstitutional since it would attempt to make a particular religion more advanced than the other. (Scott 199). With both theories about creation at hand, the main cause of concern was that one cannot be taught while the other is not. This would mean that if, say, creationism was taught and evolution was not, then students would dwell more about the knowledge on how people came to exist based on the creation theory (Jacobs, 33). They would not have come to know of a theory that taught the origin of man through evolution. In such a case, only one particular religion would be promoted and instilled in the young minds of students. A major question that people should ask themselves is: If one religion is taught in a public school science class, why cannot other theories about the development and origins of life also be taught in the same school? It was a biased move – one which would enable the existence and knowledge of one particula r discipline while extinguishing the other (Scott 212). The major conflict was between the Creationism Act and its agreement with the Establishment Clause (Brownstein 15). The Creationism Act was such that it forbade the teaching of the evolution theory in public schools unless the teaching of creation science was also involved. At the time, there was no need for any of the theories to be taught in schools, but the Act stated that should one be present, the other should be present too. This meant that the only way evolution would be taught was by the inclusion of instructions from creation science. This, from any other view, indicated that one was nonsexist if the other was not in existence either. From this argument, it was viewed that this promoted creation science more than it did evolution (Young and Strode 232). It was more of promoting a religious doctrine that taught about the existence of life from a Christian point of view. So as to show that the Creationism Act catered for the best interests of students in schools, it was argued that both were the evidence proven scientifically, which dealt with creation and evolution, and there were also inferences from that scientific evidence (Haynes 40). Beyond doubt, both were to go side by side in science classes, and as it seemed, academic freedom was present. Academic freedom is the choice to