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The Creationism Act
The teaching of creation science in public schools is a breach of the First Amendment- more specifically in the Establishment Clause. The Establishment Clause says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” By teaching the creation story of God creating Adam and Eve, the public school is imposing its Christian views on children who may not be Christian. If a Muslim child goes to a public school, he would not have the same belief; he may believe in a god but not the God that is being taught about. By teaching the idea of God creating the world in seven days, the Establishment Clause would not be upheld.
In the case of Edwards v. Aguillard, Don Aguillard, a high school biology teacher, was faced with confrontation when he tried to teach the story of creation in a public school. The governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards, said that teaching the Creation Story was unconstitutional. The Creationism Act stated that if the evolution theory was taught in public schools, then the theory of creationism was also to be taught. Many people, however, challenged this act. Both the Federal District Court and the Court of Appeals declared that the Creationism Act was unconstitutional.
The court rulings came about because of the Lemon Test. The Lemon Test consists of three parts: the government’s action must have a secular purpose, it must avoid excessive entanglement between religion and government, and it must not enhance nor inhibit religion. This test is still used today. The Lemon Test is a way of protecting the Establishment Clause and academic freedom. With both the Establishment Clause and the Lemon Test in place, the government has very strict regulations about what can and cannot be done or said in the schools. This lasting precedent reaffirms that the advancing of any religious doctrine in the public school system is in direct violation of the First Amendment.
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This article has 42 comments.
I'm not being mean when I say I disagree.
First of all, I believe that in the First Amendment, it is saying that no belief will be pressed into teachings in school, and that includes evolution.
Second, I would like to point out that if we want to teach our kids properly, we should teach all scientifically plausible theories of how the earth came to be.
That is just my opinion. I am not trying to start any trouble. This is a very controversial issue. Some people wish for it to happen, others don't. Either way, it leads to a whole lot of arguing.
School is for teaching children how to be successful in life, and how to raise a family.
To teach one specific belief, would be to deny anyone who believes differently that necesary knowledge.
School attendence is also enforced, as one who skips out on school can be charged with truency. So if Your religious beliefs were taught, that would be forcing it on everyone.
Religious belief is a choice for everyone to make for themselves
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