Creationism in the American context: An intellectual history for a cultural war

The creation and evolution controversy is usually presented in terms of opposing scientific theories and is seldom viewed in its larger political context. The federal government has played a vital role in shaping the debate as it exists today. Not only has it ruled against creationism in the Supreme Court, but it is arguably led by Darwinian assumptions in the agnostic form of pragmatism. By assuming this form early in the twentieth century, the government was laying the foundations that would eventually subordinate Christianity and creationism in the context of multiculturalism. Ever since the Court first ruled against creationism in 1968, the federal government has not altered the fundamental reasoning linked to its decision. Thus the developments that occurred before this ruling deserve special attention in order to understand the government's recent approach to this most divisive issue. The chapters explore Darwinism as a revolutionary world-view, the fundamentalist crusade, the changing nature of church/state relations, the centralization of education in the context of the Cold War, and the birth of scientific creationism in a pluralist culture.; The paper ultimately suggests that America adopted a particular interpretation of Darwinism that has been consistent with American institutions and traditions. By encouraging an evolutionary world-view and skepticism regarding metaphysical assertions, Darwinism helped promote the scientific methodology in pragmatism, which has served to accommodate a variety of religious and secular opinions. It is within this context that creationism finds itself in the contemporary setting, entrenched in the culture wars. Therefore, the revolutionary seeds of Darwinism planted in the government early in the twentieth century ultimately defeated creationism long before the issue entered any courtroom. The removal of creationism from the schools was merely symptomatic of a pragmatic or scientific methodology that the federal government was exercising.