Perks of being a wallflower
During the time of these theories, they were also influenced by society and politics.
The predominant view in western cultures, up until Darwin’s theory, was creationism: the diversity of living things was created for their environments at the same time by God in six days; the organisms have not changed and are not related. From the 1600s, other fields of biology, such as anatomy, had advanced because more scientific approaches were being undertaken. For example, William Harvey applied physical principles and systematic observations to living things.
In spite of mounting scientific evidence, Darwin’s theory of evolution was and still is rejected by many religious people. Darwin’s theory, particularly the idea that humans and apes have common ancestry, caused social and political outrage. In the 1920s Protestant traditionalists campaigned against the antibiblical ideas of evolution. Several states in the United passed laws banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 1925, teacher from Tennessee, John Scopes was arrested and put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution to his class.
The scopes of trial are famous in America. It was a confrontation between fundamental Christians and evolutionists, and between opposing politicians and lawyers. In 1968, the US Supreme Court ruled that laws banning the teaching of evolution were unconstitutional.
These social and political forces still exist in some communities today and exert pressure on schools to teach the biblical story of creation instead of or as well as evolution.
Since the 1980s, the Discovery Institute has challenged the theory of evolution under the guise of the concept of “intelligent design.” Early in the 19th century the idea was eloquently presented by William Paley who used the analogy, still cited today, of finding a watch on s beach and making the assumption that its existence was a result of random events. A result has been an increase in pressure, particularly in the US, to teach
The predominant view in western cultures, up until Darwin’s theory, was creationism: the diversity of living things was created for their environments at the same time by God in six days; the organisms have not changed and are not related. From the 1600s, other fields of biology, such as anatomy, had advanced because more scientific approaches were being undertaken. For example, William Harvey applied physical principles and systematic observations to living things.
In spite of mounting scientific evidence, Darwin’s theory of evolution was and still is rejected by many religious people. Darwin’s theory, particularly the idea that humans and apes have common ancestry, caused social and political outrage. In the 1920s Protestant traditionalists campaigned against the antibiblical ideas of evolution. Several states in the United passed laws banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 1925, teacher from Tennessee, John Scopes was arrested and put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution to his class.
The scopes of trial are famous in America. It was a confrontation between fundamental Christians and evolutionists, and between opposing politicians and lawyers. In 1968, the US Supreme Court ruled that laws banning the teaching of evolution were unconstitutional.
These social and political forces still exist in some communities today and exert pressure on schools to teach the biblical story of creation instead of or as well as evolution.
Since the 1980s, the Discovery Institute has challenged the theory of evolution under the guise of the concept of “intelligent design.” Early in the 19th century the idea was eloquently presented by William Paley who used the analogy, still cited today, of finding a watch on s beach and making the assumption that its existence was a result of random events. A result has been an increase in pressure, particularly in the US, to teach