Evolution

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Religious Debate

The most contentious debates over evolution have involved religion. From Darwin’s day to the present, members of some religious faiths have perceived the scientific theory of evolution to be in direct and objectionable conflict with religious doctrine regarding the creation of the world. Most religious denominations, however, see no conflict between the scientific study of evolution and religious teachings about creation. Christian Fundamentalists and others who believe literally in the biblical story of creation choose to reject evolutionary theory because it contradicts the book of Genesis, which describes how God created the world and all its plant and animal life in six days. Many such people maintain that the Earth is relatively young—perhaps 6,000 to 8,000 years old—and that humans and all the world’s species have remained unchanged since their recent creation by a divine hand.

Opponents of evolution argue that only a divine intelligence, and not some comparatively random, undirected process, could have created the variety of the world’s species, not to mention an organism as complex as a human being. Some people are upset by the oversimplification that humans evolved from monkeys. In the eyes of some, a divine being placed humans apart from the animal world. Proponents of this view find any attempt to place humans within the context of natural history deeply insulting.

For decades, the teaching of evolution in schools has been a flash point in the conflict between religious fundamentalism and science. During the 1920s, Fundamentalists lobbied against the teaching of evolution in public schools. Four states—Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee—passed laws outlawing public-school instruction in the principles of Darwinian evolution. In 1925 John Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, assigned his students readings about Darwinism, in direct violation of state law. Scopes was arrested and placed on trial. In what was the major trial of its time, American defense attorney Clarence Darrow represented Scopes, while American politician William Jennings Bryan argued for the prosecution. Ultimately, Scopes was convicted and received a small fine. However, the 'Monkey Trial,' as it came to be called, was seen as a victory for evolution, since Darrow, in cross-examining Bryan, succeeded in pointing out several serious inconsistencies in Fundamentalist belief.

Laws against the teaching of evolution were upheld for another 40 years, until the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 1968 decision in the case Epperson v. Arkansas, ruled that such laws were an unconstitutional violation of the legally required separation of church and state. Over the next decades, Fundamentalists responded by de-emphasizing the religious content in their doctrine and instead casting their arguments as a scientific alternative to evolution called creation science (see Creationism) or intelligent design theory. In response to Fundamentalist pressure, numerous states debated laws that would require teachers to spend equal amounts of time teaching creation science and evolution. Only two states, Arkansas and Louisiana, passed such laws. The Arkansas law was struck down in federal district court, while proponents of the Louisiana law appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. In its 1987 decision in Edwards v. Aquillard, the Court struck down such equal time laws, ruling that creation science is a religious idea and thus an illegal violation of the church-state separation. Despite these rulings, school board members and other government officials continue to grapple with the long-standing debate between creation and evolution scientists. Courts generally struck down school board decisions to mandate the teaching of intelligent design in place of evolution. The official Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore, entered the debate in 2006, calling intelligent design “unscientific” and adding that it should not be taught as an alternative to evolution.

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Common Misconceptions

For more than 100 years, scientists have sought—and found—evidence for evolution. The fossil record demonstrates that life on this planet was vastly different millions of years ago. Fossils, furthermore, provide evidence of how species change over time. The study of comparative anatomy has highlighted physical similarities in the features of widely different species—proof of common ancestry. Bacteria that mutate and develop resistance to antibiotics, along with other observable instances of adaptation, demonstrate evolutionary principles at work. And the study of genes, proteins, and other molecular evidence has added to the understanding of evolutionary descent and the relationship between all living things. Research in all these areas has led to overwhelming support for evolution among scientists.

Nevertheless, evolutionary theory is still, in some cases, the cause of misconception or misunderstanding. People often misconstrue the phrase 'survival of the fittest.' Some people interpret this to mean that survival is the reward for the strongest, the most vigorous, or the most dominant. In the Darwinian sense, however, fitness does not necessarily mean strength so much as the capacity to adapt successfully. This might mean developing adaptations for more efficiently obtaining food, or escaping predators, or enduring climate change—in short, for thriving in a given set of circumstances.

But it bears repeating that organisms do not change their characteristics in direct response to the environment. The key is genetic variation within a population—and the potential for new combinations of traits. Nature will select those individuals that have developed the ideal characteristics with which to flourish in a given environment or niche. These individuals will have the greatest degree of reproductive success, passing their successful traits on to their descendants.

Another misconception is that evolution always progresses to better creatures. In fact, if species become too narrowly adapted to a given environment, they may ultimately lose the genetic variation necessary to survive sudden changes. Evolution, in such cases, will lead to extinction.

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