Religious opposition to evolution

Religious opposition to evolution is the rejection or restriction of biological evolution on religious grounds, often involving particular interpretations of creation narratives, human origins, or divine action.

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Evolutionary biology: The scientific study of how populations change over generations and how life diversifies through evolution. Its evidence and explanatory framework conflict with opposition that rejects evolution as an account of life's history.
Biblical literalism: An approach to the Bible that treats its wording as literally true unless context indicates otherwise. Literal readings of Genesis can conflict with scientific accounts of Earth's age and life's history.
Scopes trial: The 1925 Tennessee trial of teacher John T. Scopes for teaching human evolution in public school. It made the conflict over teaching evolution a nationally visible legal and cultural dispute.
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District: A 2005 United States federal court case that ruled intelligent design was not science and could not be promoted in public-school biology classes. The case tested whether a prominent challenge to evolution could be taught as science.
Science and religion: The relationship between scientific inquiry and religious belief, practice, and institutions. Debates over evolution expose competing accounts of whether scientific and religious explanations conflict.
Theistic evolution: The view that evolutionary processes are compatible with divine creation or providence. It shows how religious belief can accept evolution rather than oppose it.
Genesis creation narrative: The accounts of creation in the opening chapters of the biblical book of Genesis. Interpretations of its sequence and timescale often shape religious objections to evolution.
Butler Act: A Tennessee law that prohibited teaching human evolution in public schools from 1925 to 1967. It gave religiously supported opposition a legislative expression and formed the basis of the Scopes trial.
National Academy of Sciences: A United States organization that advises the government on scientific matters and publishes science education resources. Its publications explain the evidence for evolution and address common creationist objections.
Evolution education controversy: Public disputes over whether and how evolution should be taught in schools. The continuing controversy raises questions about curriculum, religious liberty, and scientific standards.