Significance: In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to require the teaching of creationism where evolution was also taught. The Court judged that doing so actually discriminated against those who taught evolution.
Background: In Louisiana the Creationism Act required the biblical story of creation to be taught in any elementary or secondary public school where the theory of evolution was also taught. If one theory was not taught, then the other one was not required either. Don Aguillard—as part of a group of concerned parents, teachers, and religious leaders—protested the Creationism Act, saying that it violated the establishment clause of the Constitution. Aguillard sued Edwin Edwards, governor of Louisiana, who appealed the decision.
Decision: This case was argued on December 10, 1986, and decided on June 19, 1987, by a vote of 7 to 2. Justice William Brennan, Jr. spoke for the Court, which ruled in favor of Aguillard. The Court found that Louisiana’s Creationism Act was designed either to promote a religious belief or to prohibit the teaching of a scientific theory in places where the religious belief is not promoted; either way, it violated the First Amendment by giving religion an established position in the schools. Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Antonin Scalia dissented, feeling that the majority’s ruling denied religious voters their right to be a part of the political process.
