Evolution and creationism:
The theory of evolution has a long history. It is also at the heart of a contemporary cultural and religious controversy – one that itself has a long and rich history.
A good introduction to this issue is Frederick Gregory’s essay “Science and Religion in Western History.”
Garland E. Allen’s “Bibliographic Essay: Life Sciences in the Twentieth Century” is
particularly helpful for understanding the development of modern biology, and offers sources for additional reading. (Both Gregory and Allen are leading researchers
in the history of science and have written extensively on these topics.)
Those interested
in the controversy between Christians who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible (and thus challenge evidence for
evolution) can profit from reading The
Creationists, a 1992
book written by the historian of science Ronald L. Numbers. An on-line essay
that draws on Numbers (as well as the work of other historians of science) is linked here.
Whether science students should only learn the theory of evolution in classrooms or also learn creationist accounts remains a contemporary controversy: in August 2002 school board officials in Cobb County, Georgia, near Atlanta, voted to require teachers to give equal balance between evolution and the Bible in science classes. A fascinating snapshot of this controversy can be found in the thousands of linked sites found at “The Ultimate Creation vs. Evolution Resource” [currently in its 19th Revision]. (A large file – may take a moment to load.) An overview of the continuum of views regarding creationism and evolution may be found here.
In August 2005, President George W. Bush, in a discussion with reporters, argued that educators should teach the "controversy" between evolution and intelligent design, the idea that certain biological systems are so complex that they are evidence for a designer. This is not the consensus view of biologists (hence not a scientific controversy) but the emerging evolution-intelligent design debate is very much a cultural and political controversy. An overview of the issue (from the perspective of mainstream science) was posted on 31 August 2005 by the National Center for Science Education (posted here).