In 1925, more than 75 years ago, a Tennessee trial made national headlines as it tried what has since been known as the “trial of the century.” The battle fought out between great orators William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow in the matter of creationism vs. evolution continues today.

On Sept. 26, the Cobb County School District, a suburb of Atlanta, voted to allow other ideas of the origin of life to be taught alongside with evolution. The change comes after a lawsuit was raised about the original policy that put a disclaimer in the textbooks stating that evolution was theory, not fact, and that it may go against family teachings. A parent and the American Civil Liberties Union brought about the suit under the umbrella that this would violate the doctrine of separation of church and state in the Constitution.

Creationism is a religious theory with no scientific evidence. It belongs in a social science setting, not a biological one. Teaching about it alongside other religions does not violate the First Amendment because it would not endorse one religion over the other. To teach it in a biology class, as Cobb County is suggesting, fails to provide instruction in prevailing scientific theory.

The high court of the United States has ruled on the matter on two separate occasions. Both times it has struck down teaching creationism. The first was Epperson v. Arkansas in 1968. Nearly 20 years later, in 1987, the court heard Edwards v. Aguillard. In Edwards, the issue at hand was schools could not teach evolution unless at the same time they taught creationism, and vice versa. This is similar to the policy in Georgia. The Court said it was unconstitutional because it endorsed religion.

Evolution is an important scientific concept. It is important to note that it is not a fact, just a theory. Still, this theory is essential for understanding other scientific research in the areas of genetics, specialization, and the idea of natural selection.

Because the theory is so important, many were shocked in 1999 when Kansas passed a law forbidding it to be taught. This is legal, though. Evolution does not have to be taught. In fact, a third of all United States public school do not teach it, according to studies printed in the journal Nature in 2000. Thankfully, Kansas evolved because in 2001 they repealed the ban.

If creationism is going to be taught in schools, it needs to kept in social sciences where it belongs. The Bible is not a scientific text. The teachings of Charles Darwin, however controversial they might be, are important. In regard to the matter in Cobb County, Wyatt Anderson, dean of Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia put it best, “What our students need to learn … is science.”

Editorial Board: Cavan Reagan, Amber Billings,Rachel Faber Machacha, Charlie Weaver, Zach Calef, Ayrel Clark.