Epperson V. Arkansas

Epperson v. Arkansas

The present case concerns the teaching of biology in a high school in Little Rock. the official textbook furnished for the high school biology course did not have a section on the Darwinian Theory. Then, for the academic year 1965-1966, the school administration, on recommendation of the teachers of biology in the school system, adopted and prescribed a textbook which contained a chapter setting forth "the theory about the origin . . . of man from a lower form of animal." Susan Epperson, a young woman who graduated from Arkansas' school system and then obtained her master's degree in zoology at the University of Illinois, was employed by the Little Rock school system in the fall of 1964 to teach 10th grade biology at Central High School. At the start of the next academic year, 1965, she was confronted by the new textbook (which one surmises from the record was not unwelcome to her). She faced at least a literal dilemma because she was supposed to use the new textbook for classroom instruction and presumably to teach the statutorily condemned chapter; but to do so would be a criminal offense and subject her to dismissal. 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. It was a question of whether the state can constitutionally ban the teaching of evolution in public schools. This case relates to the issue of religion because it violates the first amendments establishment clause. The case was decided in favor of Epperson mainly for the fact that even though the theory of evolution does contradict with the teachings of some religions, they are still lawfully allowed to teach it due to freedom of religion already presiding.