Evening star., 1925-06-19
Tennessee Law Hit.
Writer Declares Evolution Stat
ute Infringes on Constitution.

~ tue Loitof OF lne Stdr.
The first amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States reads:
Congress shall make no law respect
ing an establishment of religion, or
| prohibiting the free exercise thereof"
This principle has since been re-
! affirmed by solemn treaty with
| Tripoli, wherein 1t was declared that
| this Government was not founded on
! any particular religion, but that all
religions have equal rights and oppor.
| tunities here. 1t would therefore ap-
, pear that the Tennessee law which
| reads: 1T shall be unlawful for any
! teacher to teach any theory
that denies the story of the divine Gre
| alton of man as taught in the Bible,
and that to teach instead that man
has descended from lower order OF
| animals" is an attempt to establish
| the Christian religion in this country
| by law. and is therefore a violation
Of the Constitution.
The doctrine Of evolution is the
| framework of all natural sciences. If
we study the change and the growth
Of the solar system or of the nebulae
and stars. we call the study cosrnog.
| ony. 1t Is evolution. If we study the
development of the earth from a fam
! ing mass to its present condition, as
| shown by the evidences contained In
! the rocks, we call the study geology:
| II is evolution. II we study the growth
| of life on this earth from single cell
| forms to the highest types of plants
and animals, we call the study biology:
| it is evolution. If we specialize in
| that branch of biology which has to
do with the development Of man from
| lower animal forms, we call the study
! anthropology; it is evolution. Not one
! Of the above subjects can be intelli-
gently studied from the mass of evil
! dence which has been accumulated
without acceptance of the doctrine of
growth, or evolution, as II is COM
monty called.
The Tennessee Legislature has pro-
| hibited only the study of the develop
ment of man, although the other sub
| jects are equally at variance with the
Genesis account of creation. Even
| in the graded schools, our children are
| taught the history of coal, and in the
study of physical geography they are
| taught about the ice ages, neither of
| which subjects can be intelligently
| treated in accordance with the Genesis
story. Some people try TO reconcile
| the evidence of nature with the Bible
| by saying that the days" of Genesis
| were in truth ages" A careful ex-
animation would disclose, however,
| that the sun, moon and stars would
therefore have been made three ages
| after the earth and one age after the
! grass. trees and fruits, which mis-
absurd.
The doctrine of evolution is the hope
Of mankind. 1t is the law of growth
and progress. 1t is the law of op-
timism. 1t teaches that the present is
truly the child of the past and the
parent of the future. 1t teaches that
only by working in harmony with the
laws of nature. which are disclosed by
science, can we hope to control our
destiny.
There is no conflict between science
and true religion, but there is conflict
| between science and some forms of re-
| ligion. 1t was orthodox religion which
opposed the inquiries into the subject
of geology when the first fossils were
discovered in the rocks. 1t was ortho-
| doX religion that burned Bruno at the
stake for declaring that the earth was
not the center of the universe. 1t was
orthodox religion which prosecuted
Gallileo and burned his books for
teaching that the earth revolved
around the sun. 1t is now orthodox
religion which is prosecuting the teach
ers of biology for teaching the devel-
opment of man. Orthodoxy is blind
adherence TO old beliefs. 1t is oppoSi-
ton TO progress. Opposition to prog
ress is stagnation. and unless many of
the religious leaders of today change
their attitude they will learn the truth
! in that old saying. "Stagnation is the
| first step toward decay"
/ The evidence in support of evolution
is so overwhelming that il seems in
credible for any reasoning person who
| has studied the subject TO doubt its
validity. At the Toronto meeting of
! the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science and Education,
which is composed of 14,300 of the
leading scientists and educators of
America, the following statement was
approved by unanimous vote: mo
scientific generalization is more
strongly supported by thoroughly
| tested evidences than is that of or
ganic evolution" The Encyclopa edia
Britannica says the doctrine of
evolution has outgrown the trammels
of controversy and has been accepted
| as fundamental principle
1t is d deplora BILE situation, and one
which clearly indicates a general low
average of eduCa ton, that such laws
as this Tennessee law, and similar
ones passed by other Southern States,
| should be placed on the statute books
However, it is believed that the final
results are bound to be beneficial, both
to science and religion. The great in
terest shown by the public in this trial
and the resultant inquiry into the evi-
dences of evolution should result in d
clearer understanding between religion
| and science, and it is hoped, a recon-
citation VIM. d. PATTERSON.