Wednesday, May 03, 2006
The More Things Change . . .
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The Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science is having a conference from June 3rd to the 7th at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The conference is entitled "Continuity and Change: Perspectives on Science and Religion." At least two of the speakers should be familiar to anyone who follows the creationism/evolution wars: John F. Haught (an expert witness for the plaintiffs at Dover) and Ronald L. Numbers (author of The Creationists, among other books).
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One of the sessions, called "Beyond Intelligent Design, Science Debates, and Culture Wars: A Teach-In on Evolution," scheduled for Sunday, June 4, should be of particular interest to evotees. Cosponsored by the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia), it will investigate the question of the origins and evolution of life, taking into account scientific, theological, philosophical, historical, and political considerations, many of which impact education and public policy. Participants will include Ian Barbour (Carleton College), John Haught (Georgetown University), George Ellis (University of Cape Town), and Nancey Murphy (Fuller Theological Seminary).
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Perhaps best of all, there are also numerous papers available (with promises of more) that bear on the intersection of science and religion.
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One I found fascinating was "Viewing the Scopes Trial in the History of Education" by Adam Shapiro of the University of Chicago, which focuses on the broader educational conflicts that were going on at the time of the Scopes trial. These issues included the expansion of education throughout Tennesee by the mandating of a minimum eight-month school year and providing for the establishment of a high school in every county. The bill requiring this expansion was the brainchild of Tennessee Governor Austin Peay. But it was only allowed out of committee after the Governor signed the Butler Act, outlawing the teaching of evolution.
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Such forces and others, including conflict between urban and rural culture and between groups with competing economic interests played as much or more of a role in the events leading up to the Scopes trial as did any conflict between science and religion. As Shapiro sums up the reasons for considering the Scopes trial from a history of education viewpoint:
This perspective, focused on social groups rather than theological and scientific doctrines, recognizes a historical truth: Ideas don’t fight; people with ideas fight. In the case of the Scopes trial, the ideas of science and religion were deployed as weapons in a larger battle over a variety of issues. This is not to minimize the importance of science and religion in the Scopes trial, but separates the reasons used to justify or explain the trial from the reasons that caused there to be this specific Scopes trial, in Dayton, in 1925, over the teaching of evolution.
The article is well worth the time in order to gain a new understanding of the controversy then and now.
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