POSC402 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Creation Science, Ceremonial Deism, Pawtucket, Rhode Island

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POSC402
• Professor: Wayne Batchis

Document Summary

Appellant - epperson, a woman teaching biology at a high school. The arkansas legislature passed a law prohibiting teachers in public or state-supported schools from teaching, or using textbooks that teach, human evolution. Epperson, a public school teacher, sued, claiming the law violated her first amendment right to free speech as well as the. The state chancery court ruled that it violated her free speech rights; the state supreme court reversed. Seven members of the court held that the statute violated the establishment clause. Writing for the court, justice abe fortas stated that the law had been based solely on the beliefs of fundamentalist christians, who felt that evolutionary theories directly contradicted the biblical account of creation. Justice abe fortas stated that the law had been based solely on the beliefs of fundamentalist. Christians, who felt that evolutionary theories directly contradicted the biblical account of.