Abstract: The Scopes Trial, Christian Nationalism, and the Ongoing War on Science
The 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial was more than a dispute over biology textbooks; it was a cultural reckoning between modern science and traditional Christian belief. Taking place just decades after Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1870), the trial exposed a nation divided over whether faith or science would shape public education and national identity.
In “The Scopes Monkey Trial 100 Years Later” (Smith, 2025), I argue that the trial became a nexus point for America’s unresolved tensions between religion and modernity. While John Scopes’ conviction was overturned, the underlying conflict never disappeared. Instead, it evolved into the culture wars of the late 20th century and is now revived in contemporary Christian nationalism. Today’s war on science—from climate change denial to restrictions on reproductive healthcare—is not accidental but intentional, forming a central plank of the Christian nationalist agenda and the Project 2025 political playbook embraced by the Republican Party.
This article pairs with my book, Christian to Fundamentalism to Christian Nationalism: A Primer of the Dangers to American Democracy (Smith, 2024), which situates the rise of Christian nationalism within the longer trajectory of American religious and political history. Together, these works emphasize that the “Scopes conflict” is not an isolated episode but part of a century-long struggle over knowledge, authority, and national destiny. Placed in conversation with Edward J. Larson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion (1997), my contributions extend the scholarly dialogue by linking past conflicts to the urgent challenges facing democracy today.
📚 Key Sources for Further Study
- Smith, Michael A. (2025). “The Scopes Monkey Trial 100 Years Later.” The Christian Century, July, pp. 60–64. See: https://www.christiancentury.org/features/scopes-monkey-trial-and-evolution-fundamentalism
- Smith, Michael A. (2024). Christian to Fundamentalism to Christian Nationalism: A Primer of the Dangers to American Democracy. Ontario: Global Book Publishers.
- Larson, Edward J. (1997). Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate over Science and Religion. Basic Books.
.jpg)
See: https://gabixlerreviews-bookreadersheaven.blogspot.com/2025/08/michael-smith-presents-from-christian.html
No comments:
Post a Comment