Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968)

Facts:
In 1965, Susan Epperson, a tenth grade biology teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas, brought suit to void a 40 year old law forbidding the teaching of the "theory or doctrine that mankind ascended or descended from a lower order of animals." A recently adopted biology textbook included an entire chapter on the theory of evolution. Ms. Epperson argued that teaching from this textbook was forbidden by state law, and she would be committing a crime if she did so, and this law therefore violated the First Amendment.

Issue:
Whether the state can constitutionally ban the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Holding:
In a unanimous decision, the Court held that a state’s control over the public school curriculum does not include the right to withdraw from the curriculum secular material that is at odds with certain religious beliefs. Such a selective prohibition on knowledge violates the Establishment Clause.

Reasoning:
The court unanimously found that the law was passed for religious reasons. The statute’s primarily religious purpose violates the First Amendment requirement of neutrality between religions, and between religion and non-religion.

Majority:
"The overriding fact is that Arkansas’ law selects from the body of knowledge a particular segment which it proscribes for the sole reason that it is deemed to conflict with a particular religious doctrine; that is, with a particular interpretation of the Book of Genesis by a particular religious group." (Justice Abe Fortas)

Read more about this case at firstamendmentcenter.org:

Last updated: Thursday, September 9, 2010 | 09:25:41