One of the most controversial issues of our time is the debate on creationism being taught in public schools as an alternative to evolution. Creationism is the religious belief that life, the Earth, and the Universe are the creation of a supernatural being. Evolution is defined as a change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift. The question that is being decided is not which is correct but what should be taught in public schools. I believe that only evolution should be taught in schools due to the educational benefits, the First Amendment, and Edwards v Aguillard.

When the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released their 2009 Program for International Student Assessment, the United States was ranked 17th in science. Many proponents of Creationism argue that evolution has not been proven and that all children have the right to learn about alternate theories. Evolution, however, has been scientifically proven with much evidence to support it. Some of the evidence that has convinced scientists of evolution is fossils and genes. The theory of evolution was proposed by Charles Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species. This book was revolutionary, opening new doors for people like Gregor Mendel who worked with genes which helped to support Darwin's theory of evolution as truth. Out of the 1,108,100 biological and geological scientists in 1999 in the United States only 600 have stated doubt in Darwinism by signing A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism list, this is a percentage 0.054 percent.While all people have the right to their own opinion public schools should not be encouraging the false belief that evolution is something questionable. For students to be able to compete with more scientifically prepared students from other countries, they must learn about the building blocks of the Earth and humanity.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution gives the people freedom of religion but prohibits the government from endorsing one particular religion. This prohibition ensures that public schools must remain a place where children of all faiths are able to learn free of theological debates. Many religions and cultures have creation stories that differ greatly from those in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, which are synoptic creation stories. Some types of creation stories from other cultures include creation from chaos, Earth diver stories, emergence stories, and world parent stories. If schools were only to teach creationism as the world being formed by a supernatural being, it would be violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution by ignoring or disregarding other cultures and religions. The United States government does not have the Constitutional right to teach creationism because it breaks the most sacred and beloved amendment.

In 1987 the Supreme Court decided a case called Edwards v Aguillard that was about teaching creationism in schools. The Court ruled that creationism being taught along with evolution in schools was unconstitutional because it advanced the beliefs of one religion over others. The majority opinion of the Supreme Court was written by Justice William J. Brennan who wrote that the disputed Act from Louisiana was unconstitutional because it did not pass the Lemon Test which states:

1. The government's action must have a legitimate secular purpose;

2. The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting
religion; and

3. The government's action must not result in an “excessive entanglement” of the government

and religion.
This majority opinion also states that “We do not imply that a legislature could never require that scientific critiques of prevailing scientific theories be taught. . . . Teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to schoolchildren might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction.” While schools are able to teach different methods of science they must never forget the secular purpose of public schools. This Supreme Court case ensured that the prohibition of endorsing one religion guaranteed by the First Amendment was and is upheld.

As the United States falls farther and farther behind in scientific education, the idea of teaching children unproven theological alternatives is foolish. The United States has long been a beacon of light for intelligence and creativity, exploring and embracing new ideas and inventions. If the United States would like to continue on this prosperous path, we need to be producing the world's next generation of scientists. By endorsing creationism, we are only guaranteeing a generation of students who believe that one of the fundamental parts of science is a suggestion, when it is certainly a fact. There should be no compromise on the issue of creationism; creationism should not be taught in public schools because matters of faith belong to the people not to the secular government and their secular schools.