BARTH KECK Intelligent Design . Surely you remember that concept making news years ago, the one claiming “certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.” Well, Intelligent Design is about to make a comeback. Mark my words. The year was 2005. The board of Dover Area (Pa.) schools required teachers to read a disclaimer before teaching evolution due to “gaps/problems in Darwin’s theory and of other theories of evolution. The disclaimer stated that the school only taught evolution because it was mandated by the state, and that Intelligent Design (ID) is an alternative explanation of the origins of life that differs from evolution.” Parents and teachers sued the school district, arguing that the board’s disclaimer violated the establishment clause of the Constitution. The Pennsylvania District Court agreed, finding Intelligent Design indistinguishable from creationism and ruling that “the district’s policy impermissibly advanced religion.” That 2005 decision in Pennsylvania was the most prominent court battle involving evolution and schools since the “ Scopes Monkey Trial ” in 1925. Tennessee biology teacher John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100 for teaching evolution, a violation of […]
