Context: Challenges in US recent history
After about 150 years since the publication of "On the Origin of Species", the book’s theory of evolution is still being challenged in education systems across the United States. The exhibit will focus on a couple of examples of cases resisting Darwinism being taught in schools. There are many more recent debates across the United States challenging evolution in schools.
Cobb County in Georgia had a strict policy to exclude human evolution from science courses up until 2002 when the Georgia Department of Education included evolution in the state’s education guidelines. The Cobb County school board adopted disclaimer stickers which were placed on all science textbooks. The disclaimer stated: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered." Jeffrey Selman filed a lawsuit against the Cobb County School District as he believed it promoted religious beliefs in schools. A parent by the name of Majorie Rogers submitted a petition of 2300 resident signatures to restrict Darwinian instruction in schools. In 2005, U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper ruled against the school board’s disclaimer stickers since they violated the US and Georgian constitutions. The decision was appealed and settled out of court in 2006 favouring the plaintiff (Larson 2014). The settlement documents could be found here. The result is that the school district is prohibited from attaching evolution related disclaimer stickers or similar statements to textbooks, prohibited to make evolution related disclaimers orally or written, and prohibited to censor any evolution related material. The Cobb County School District was thereby legally required to teach evolution in schools (Selman v. Cobb County School District).
The Alabama state board of education adopted new science standards in 1995. The new standards had adopted a disclaimer stating evolution is a theory and not a fact. The disclaimer influenced proposals in Washington, Louisiana, and Mississippi to adopt evolution disclaimers. In November 2001, the state adopted a second version of the disclaimer which described evolution by natural selection as a controversial theory. Then in 2005, a third disclaimer was developed which had a skeptical tone towards evolution however removed that it was controversial. But the board unanimously decided to keep using the second disclaimer which described evolution as a controversial theory (Branch 2017).
The recent anti-evolutionary movement in the United States is focused on reducing the coverage and credibility of Darwin’s ideas from "On the Origin of Species" in education systems. Compared to the early 20th century there have been major societal changes allowing for the acceptance of the theory of evolution in schools. Laws prohibiting teaching evolution were removed, and the extent of the resistance is through placing disclaimers and they have been expelled by most states. This shows how the acceptance of new principles is dependant on the culture of society because over the years the Christian influence on American school systems has diluted, allowing scientific studies to be taught without external influences.