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''Edwards v. Aguillard'', was a legal case about the teaching of creationism that was heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1987. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion. It also held that "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to school children might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction". In support of Aguillard, 72 Nobel prize-winning scientists,〔(Edwards v. Aguillard: Amicus Curiae Brief of 72 Nobel Laureates )〕 17 state academies of science, and seven other scientific organizations filed amicus briefs that described creation science as being composed of religious tenets. ==Background== Modern American creationism arose out of the theological split over modernist higher criticism and its rejection by the Fundamentalist Christian movement, which promoted Biblical literalism and, post 1920, took up the anti-evolution cause led by William Jennings Bryan. The teaching of evolution had become a common part of the public school curriculum, but his campaign was based on the idea that “Darwinism” had caused German militarism and was a threat to traditional religion and morality. Several states passed legislation to ban or restrict the teaching of evolution. The Tennessee Butler Act was tested in the Scopes Trial of 1925, and continued in effect with the result that evolution was not taught in many schools. When the United States sought to catch up in science during the 1960s with new teaching standards, which reintroduced evolution, the creation science movement arose, presenting what was claimed to be scientific evidence supporting young earth creationism. Attempts were made to reintroduce legal bans, but the Supreme Court ruled that bans on teaching evolutionary biology are unconstitutional as they violate the establishment clause of the United States Constitution, which forbids the government from advancing a particular religion.〔 In the early 1980s, several states attempted to introduce creationism alongside the teaching of evolution, and the Louisiana legislature passed a law, authored by State Senator Bill P. Keith of Caddo Parish, entitled the "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act."〔Justice Brennan (misnamed the statute ) as the "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act" in the majority decision.〕 The Act did not require teaching either creationism or evolution, but did require that, if evolutionary science was taught then "creation science" must be taught as well.〔(RS 17:286.5 )〕 Creationists lobbied aggressively for the law. The stated purpose of the Act was to protect "academic freedom."〔(RS 17:286.2 )〕 Counsel for the state later admitted at the Supreme Court oral argument that the "legislature may not The District Court and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Louisiana, finding that its actual purpose in enacting the statute was to promote the religious doctrine of "creation science". An Arkansas District Court previously held in a 1982 decision in ''McLean v. Arkansas'' that a similar "balanced treatment" statute violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Arkansas did not appeal the loss. Creationists believed the statute at issue in ''Edwards v. Aguillard'' had a better chance of passing constitutional muster, and so Louisiana appealed its loss in the trial and appellate courts to the Supreme Court. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edwards v. Aguillard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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