Edwards v. Aguillard
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 10, 1986 Decided June 19, 1987
Full case name: Edwards, Governor of Louisiana, et al. v. Aguillard et al. Citations: 482 U.S. 578
Holding
Teaching creationism in public schools is unconstitutional because it attempts to advance a particular religion.
Court membership
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist Associate Justices: William J. Brennan, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun, Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia
Case opinions
Majority by: Brennan Joined by: Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens, O'Connor (all but part II) Concurrence by: Powell Joined by: O'Connor Concurrence by: White (in the judgment of the court only) Dissent by: Scalia Joined by: Rehnquist

Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987) was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court ruled that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution was taught was unconstitutional, because the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion. At the same time, however, it 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." Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Byron Raymond White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) won fame both as a football running back and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Justice Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. ... Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. ... John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is currently the most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) is an American jurist who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. ... Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Creation science is the attempt to find scientific evidence that would justify a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

In support of Aguillard, 72 Nobel prize-winning scientists, 17 state academies of science, and 7 other scientific organizations filed amicus briefs which described creation science as being composed of religious tenets. The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ), as designated in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, is awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. ... Definition and Explanation: Amicus curiæ (Latin for friend of the court; plural amici curiæ) briefs are legal documents filed by non-litigants in appellate court cases, which include additional information or arguments that those outside parties wish to have considered in that particular case. ... Creation science is the attempt to find scientific evidence that would justify a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation. ...

Background

Creationists had often sought to advance their agenda through the use of legislation. Opponents of creationism countered by having the courts abolish such legislation on the basis that they violated the establishment clause of the US constitution, which forbids the government from advancing a particular religion. Indeed the Scopes Trial of 1925 had originally been intended to be appealed on this basis. Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ... The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is... John Scopes, a high school teacher, was charged on May 5, 1925 with teaching evolution from a chapter in a textbook which showed ideas developed from those set out in Charles Darwins book The Origin of Species. ...

The creation science movement arose during the 1960s, presenting what was claimed to be scientific evidence supporting young earth creationism, though critics in the mainstream scientific community (including many Christians) denounced it as pseudoscience lacking any evidential basis whatsoever. The Supreme Court in Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) ruled that bans on teaching evolutionary biology are unconstitutional. Creation science is the attempt to find scientific evidence that would justify a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation. ... Adam and Eve, the first human beings according to Genesis. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A typical 18th century phrenology chart. ... Holding States may not require curricula to align with the views of any particular religion. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

In the early 1980s, the Louisiana legislature passed a law titled the "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act". The Act did not require teaching either creationism or evolution, but did require that when evolutionary science was taught, the "creation science" had to be taught as well. Creationists had lobbied aggressively for the law. Creationism is a religious belief that humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe were created in their original form by a deity or deities (often the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), whose existence is presupposed. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

The State argued that the Act was about academic freedom for teachers.

Lower courts had ruled that the State's actual purpose was to promote the religious doctrine of "creation science", but the State appealed to the Supreme Court. In a similar case in McLean v. Arkansas had also decided against creationism. Mclean v. Arkansas however was not appealed to the national level, creationists instead thinking that they had better chances with Edwards v. Aguillard. Creation science is the attempt to find scientific evidence that would justify a literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation. ... McLean v. ...

Decision

On June 19, 1987 the Supreme Court, in a seven to two majority opinion written by Justice William J. Brennan, ruled that the Act constituted an unconstitutional infringement on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, based on the three-pronged Lemon test, which is: is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Holding For a law to be considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must have a legitimate secular purpose, must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion. ...

1. The government's action must have a legitimate secular purpose;
2. The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion; and
3. The government's action must not result in an "excessive entanglement" of the government and religion.

However it did note that alternative scientific theories could be taught:

We do not imply that a legislature could never require that scientific critiques of prevailing scientific theories be taught. . . . [T]eaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to schoolchildren might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction.

The Court found that, although the Louisiana legislature had stated that its purpose was to "protect academic freedom," that purpose was dubious because the Act gave Louisiana teachers no freedom they did not already possess and instead limited their ability to determine what scientific principles should be taught. Because it was unconvinced by the state's proffered secular purpose, the Court went on to find that the legislature had a "preeminent religious purpose in enacting this statute."

Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, dissented, accepting the Act's stated purpose of "protecting academic freedom" as a sincere and legitimate secular purpose. They construed the term "academic freedom" to refer to "students' freedom from indoctrination", in this case their freedom "to decide for themselves how life began, based upon a fair and balanced presentation of the scientific evidence". However, they also criticized the first prong of the Lemon test, noting that "to look for the sole purpose of even a single legislator is probably to look for something that does not exist.". Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ...

Consequences

The ruling had great effect on the creationist movement. It only affected state schools, with independent schools, home schools, Sunday schools and Christian schools free to still teach creationism. Within two years a creationist textbook had been produced: Of Pandas and People which attacked evolutionary biology without mentioning the identity of the supposed "intelligent designer". It is noteworthy that drafts of the text used "creation" or "creator" prior to being changed to "intelligent design" or "designer" after the Edwards v. Aguillard ruling.[1] This form of creationism, known as intelligent design creationism started in the early 1990s. This would eventually lead to another court case, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, which went to trial on September 26, 2005 and was decided on December 20, 2005 in favor of the plaintiffs, who charged that a mandate that ID (Intelligent Design) be taught was an unconstitutional establishment of religion. The 139 page opinion of Kitzmiller v. Dover was hailed as a landmark decision, firmly establishing that creationism and intelligent design were religious teachings and not areas of legitimate scientific research. Homeschooling – also called home education or home school – is the education of children at home, typically by parents or guardians, rather than in a public or private school. ... Sunday school, Indians and whites. ... A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. ... Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins is a controversial 1989 (2nd edition 1993) school-level textbook written by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon and published by the Texas-based Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE). ... An intelligent designer, also referred to as an intelligent agent, is the entity that the intelligent design movement argues had some role in the origin and/or development of life and who supposedly has left scientific evidence of this intelligent design. ... This article is about intelligent design and the associated social movement. ... Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Daniel v. Waters
• Epperson v. Arkansas
• Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
• McLean v. Arkansas
• Scopes Trial

Daniel v. ... Holding States may not require curricula to align with the views of any particular religion. ... Tammy Kitzmiller, et al. ... McLean v. ... John Scopes, a high school teacher, was charged on May 5, 1925 with teaching evolution from a chapter in a textbook which showed ideas developed from those set out in Charles Darwins book The Origin of Species. ...

External links

• Edwards v. Aguillard,  482 U.S. 578 (1987) Text of the court decision at FindLaw.
• Text of the court decision at TalkOrigins Archive.
• Amicus brief of science organizations and Nobel-Prize winners
• Affidavit of Dean H. Kenyon