In an attempt to placate the fundamentalists, they have insulted the intelligence of our children
• Christian Fundamentalism
Evolution is theory, not fact.
The Cobb County school board has ordered that advisory placed into new biology textbooks next year. Aggrieved scientists say the board has overreacted to pressure from evangelical parents. But anti-evolution parents believe the textbook insert doesn't go far enough in refuting Darwinism.
The evolution disclaimer has plunged Georgia's second-largest school district into a conflict that has divided Americans since 1925, when John Scopes was tried in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
Seventy-seven years later, the teaching of biological evolution is standard in American classrooms. The long-standing challenge by creationists -- those strict biblical constructionists who believe Genesis is factual -- has largely been repudiated by the courts. But a new and more sophisticated competitor -- the concept of "intelligent design" -- is gaining momentum.