Abstract
For the last 20 years, biology textbooks in the state of Alabama have featured a disclaimer about evolution, owing to a series of decisions on the part of the Alabama state board of education. Clearly motivated by antievolution sentiment and aimed at reinforcing doubt and denial about evolution on the part of students in the state’s public schools, the disclaimer was so prominent as to have been described as “the Cadillac of disclaimers.” Because of its longevity as well as its influence, it deserves—and repays—detailed attention as a manifestation of antievolutionism.
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Notes
- 1.
For the automotive characterization of Alabama’s 1995 textbook disclaimer about evolution, see Larry A. Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 235. The luster of the brand is so faded that it is perhaps now necessary to explain the metonym: the Cadillac of such-and-such is the best, most luxurious, or most prestigious of its category. See Ben Zimmer, “Cadillac Thrives as a Figure of Speech,” The New York Times Sunday Magazine, November 8, 2009, MM14.
- 2.
Glenn Branch, Eugenie C. Scott, and Joshua Rosenau, “Dispatches from the Evolution Wars,” Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics 11, 317–338.
- 3.
See Adam Laats, Fundamentalism and Education in the Scopes Era (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010).
- 4.
Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 U.S. 97 (1968), reprinted in Edward J. Larson, Creationism in the Classroom (St. Paul [MN]: West Academic Publishing, 2012).
- 5.
Also introduced later in 1981 was Senate Joint Resolution 50, recommending (rather than requiring) the teaching of creationism in the public schools of Alabama, in order to counter “the repugnant atheistic and agnostic doctrine of evolution”; it was also unsuccessful.
- 6.
Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578 (1987), reprinted in Larson, Creationism in the Classroom. The chief sponsor of Alabama’s House Bill 526, Frank Riddick, told the Associated Press that the challenges to the Louisiana and Arkansas bills convinced him not to pursue his efforts: see “Louisiana Ruling May Have Hurt Alabama Creation-Science Drive,” The Gadsden Times, November 26, 1982, 9.
- 7.
See Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross, Creationism’s Trojan Horse, revised ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007).
- 8.
Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 400 F. Supp. 2d 707 (M. D. Pa. 2005), reprinted in Larson, Creationism in the Classroom. For a narrative of the Kitzmiller case, see Lauri Lebo, The Devil in Dover (New York: New Press, 2008).
- 9.
See Edward J. Larson, Trial and Error, third ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 75.
- 10.
A textbook disclaimer could, of course, recommend a supposed alternative to evolution, in which case it would exemplify the second rather than the third wave of antievolutionism. But no such disclaimer seems ever to have been adopted. The closest is the oral disclaimer mandated in 2004 by the Dover Area School Board, which mentioned intelligent design, misdescribed as “an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin’s view,” and recommended Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon’s intelligent design textbook Of Pandas and People (Dallas [TX]: Haughton, 1989) to “students who might be interested in gaining an understanding of what Intelligent Design actually involves”; the teachers at Dover Area High School ultimately refused to read it to their students. See Kitzmiller v. Dover and Lebo, The Devil in Dover.
- 11.
In 1984, the state’s attorney general advised that the disclaimer was unconstitutional, and it was abandoned. For the text of the disclaimer and the attorney general’s opinion, see Eugenie C. Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, second ed. (Berkeley [CA]: University of California Press, 2009), 241–244.
- 12.
The Alabama state board of education is responsible for the “general supervision of the public schools in Alabama” (Alabama Constitution of 1901, amendment 284); it is composed of eight elected members and the governor ex officio (Alabama Code § 16-3-1).
- 13.
Quoted in John C. Frandsen and Scott Brande, “An Analysis of the 1995 Alabama Draft and Adopted Course of Study: Science,” Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 68, no. 1 (1997), 38–58, at 46. For a discussion of the “theory not fact” slogan, see Glenn Branch and Louise S. Mead, “‘Theory’ in Theory and Practice,” Evolution: Education and Outreach 1, no. 3 (2008), 287–289.
- 14.
The Alabama state textbook committee is responsible for considering the merit of textbooks offered for use of the public elementary and high schools of the state and for making recommendations to the state Board of Education (Alabama Code § 16-36-60, although in 1995, the relevant law was Alabama Code § 16-36-1); it is composed of twenty-three appointed members.
- 15.
Quoted in Scott Brande and John C. Frandsen, “The Evolution/Creation Controversy During the 1995 Alabama Science Textbook Adoptions,” Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 68, no. 1 (1997), 59–76, at 64. Among the books rejected were Phillip Johnson’s antievolution polemic Darwin on Trial (Downers Grove [IL]: InterVarsity Press, 1991) and Davis and Kenyon’s intelligent design textbook Of Pandas and People, which figured prominently in Kitzmiller v. Dover; see Lebo, The Devil in Dover.
- 16.
All six statements are reproduced in Brande and Frandsen, “The Evolution/Creation Controversy.”
- 17.
Quoted in Glenn Branch, “Fobbing Off Evolution,” Science League of America (blog), National Center for Science Education, October 30, 2014, http://ncse.com/blog/2014/10/fobbing-off-evolution-0015930; also see Charles Dean, “Biology Books Get Disclaimers About Evolution,” Birmingham News, November 10, 1995, A1. In the spring of 1996, citing the section of the ACOSS on which the disclaimer was based, Governor James expended nearly $3000 of his discretionary funds to send nine hundred copies of Johnson’s Darwin on Trial to every public school science teacher in the state. See “Surprise Gift. No Charge,” Education Week, April 3, 1996, 5.
- 18.
Branch, Scott, and Rosenau, “Dispatches from the Evolution Wars,” 318; Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, xxiii–xxvi.
- 19.
For a discussion of the relationship of creationist criticisms of evolutionary biology and of research on the origin of life, see Glenn Branch and Eugenie C. Scott, “The Soft Underbelly of Evolution?” Evolution: Education and Outreach 5, no. 3 (2012), 402–404.
- 20.
Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, 71–72.
- 21.
A poll conducted in early 1995, when the board was tampering with the standards, suggested that 30 percent of Alabamians thought that both creationism and evolution should be taught in the state’s public schools, while 12 percent thought that only evolution should be taught and 52 percent thought that only creationism should be taught. See Parker Holmes, “Alabamians Favor Creationism,” Mobile Register, March 19, 1995, A1.
- 22.
Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Grand Rapids [MI]: Eerdmans, 1994), 197.
- 23.
Branch, Scott, and Rosenau, “Dispatches from the Evolution Wars,” 318; Scott, Evolution vs. Creationism, 63–73.
- 24.
Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, 235. Witham cites the Associated Press story as “Schoolbooks to Carry Evolution Caveat,” Washington Times, November 26, 1996, A3.
- 25.
Peter Applebome, “70 Years After Scopes Trial, Creation Debate Lives,” March 10, 1996, The New York Times, A1.
- 26.
Martha Simmons, “Most Callers Support Evolution Disclaimer,” November 11, 1995, Mobile Register, B1.
- 27.
David Thomasson, “A Mockery of Science That Trivializes Religion,” December 8, 1995, Mobile Register, A14.
- 28.
Witham, Where Darwin Meets the Bible, 158.
- 29.
Norris Anderson, “The Alabama Insert: A Call for Impartial Science,” May 15, 1996, Access Research Network, http://www.arn.org/docs/anderson/insert.htm. For a perhaps unduly detailed discussion of how Anderson misleadingly quoted a critic of the disclaimer in his essay, see Glenn Branch, “Defending the Disclaimer with a Convenient …,” October 14, 2015, Science League of America (blog), National Center for Science Education, http://ncse.com/blog/2015/10/defending-disclaimer-with-convenient-0016682
- 30.
Richard Dawkins, “The ‘Alabama Insert’: A Study in Ignorance and Dishonesty,” Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 68, no. 1 (1997), 1–16; reprinted in Charles Darwin: A Celebration of his Life and Legacy, ed. James Bradley and Jay Lamar (Montgomery [AL]: NewSouth Books, 2013), 5–22. A similar line-by-line dissection of the disclaimer was offered by the textbook watchdog William J. Bennetta, “Alabama Will Use Schoolbooks to Spread Lies and Foster Creationism,” The Textbook Letter 6, no. 5 (1995), 8–11.
- 31.
Lawrence S. Lerner, Good Science, Bad Science (Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 2000), 16.
- 32.
Larson, Trial and Error, 202. The textbook committee’s vote prompted the coauthor of a series of widely used high school biology textbooks to offer a line-by-line rebuttal of the disclaimer: see Kenneth R. Miller, “Dissecting the Disclaimer,” Reports of the National Center for Science Education 20, no. 3 (2000), 30–33.
- 33.
For a report on the proposal in Louisiana, see Lauri Maggi, “Evolution Disclaimer is Struck Down,” December 13, 2012, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 4.
- 34.
Joan McCoy, “Board Votes to Remove Stickers,” July 13, 2005, The Leader, http://www.arkansasleader.com/2005/07/top-story-board-votes-to-remove.html. Action was considerably swifter in Clayton County, Georgia, where the board of education voted to require a version of the first Alabama disclaimer in May 1996. See Doug Cumming, “Disclaimer in Science Books Provoking Fight,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 30, 1996, C2. The requirement was rescinded later in the year when the composition of the board changed.
- 35.
For Kansas, see Larson, Trial and Error, 202–205; for the Fordham Foundation’s report, see Lerner, Good Science, Bad Science.
- 36.
Quoted in Rebecca Catalanello, “Curriculum Stresses Evolution is a Theory,” January 12, 2001, Mobile Register, A1.
- 37.
Selman v. Cobb County School District, 390 F. Supp. 2d 1268 (N.D. Ga. 2005), reversed and remanded, 449 F. 3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2006), reprinted in Larson, Creationism in the Classroom. For a detailed and entertaining account of the case by the lead plaintiff, see Jeffrey M. Selman, God Sent Me (Marietta [GA]: Blossom Press, 2015).
- 38.
Bob Johnson, “Officials: State Safe on Evolution,” January 14, 2005, Mobile Register, A4.
- 39.
For the Associated Press’s report, see Samari Jafari, “Board to Retain Evolution Language,” November 11, 2005, Mobile Register, B1.
- 40.
See Selman v. Cobb County School District and Selman, God Sent Me.
- 41.
Quoted in Regan Loyola Connolly, “Proposal Protects Teaching Creation,” February 18, 2004, Montgomery Advertiser, 1A.
- 42.
See Nicholas J. Matzke, “The Evolution of Antievolution Policies after Kitzmiller v. Dover,” Science 351, no. 6268 (2016), 10–12.
- 43.
For a report indicating that promoting creationism was the goal of House Bill 133, see Margo Gray, “Bill Would Allow Elective Religious Courses for High School Students,” February 5, 2012, WAFF, http://www.waff.com/story/16681725/billz-would-allow-elective-religious-courses-for-high-school-students
- 44.
The remarks of the candidate, Bradley Byrne, are quoted in Brian Montopoli, “Alabama Gov. Candidate Attacked for Belief in Evolution,” May 11, 2010, CBS News, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-gov-candidate-attacked-for-belief-in-evolution/ while the remarks of the official, Michael Sibley, are reported in Joshua Rhett Miller, “Claims that Bibles Were Distributed to Alabama Elementary Schools are Inaccurate, School Superintendent Says,” March 24, 2011, Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/24/alabama-superintendent-denies-claims-bibles-distributed-class.html
- 45.
Dan Carsen, “Alabama’s Science Standards Get a Makeover,” September 10, 2015, National Public Radio, http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/10/438566266/alabamas-science-standards-get-a-makeover
- 46.
Thomas R. Bice, 2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science (Montgomery [AL]: Alabama State Department of Education, 2015), iv. https://www.alsde.edu/sec/sct/COS/2015%20FINAL%20Science%20COS%2010-1-15.pdf
- 47.
Bice, 2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science, 48.
- 48.
Amanda Glaze, “One Giant Step for Alabama’s Students … Now What’s Next?” EvoS (blog), September 18, 2015, http://evostudies.org/2015/09/one-giant-step-for-alabama-students-now-whats-next/
- 49.
Bice, 2015 Alabama Course of Study: Science, iv.
- 50.
Zoë Schlanger, “Here’s the Evolution-Questioning ‘Sticker’ Alabama Puts on Its Biology Textbooks,” September 18, 2015, Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/alabama-biology-textbooks-evolution-sticker-373662. Note that the sticker shown there is the first, 1996, not the second, 2001, disclaimer.
- 51.
“3/10/2016 State Board of Education Meeting” (video), March 10, 2016, http://www.alsde.edu/sites/boe/Pages/VideoLargeItem.aspx?ID=845, Alabama State Board of Education, around 15:45 and following.
- 52.
Josh Moon, “Alabama Won’t Evolve to Accept Evolution,” Montgomery Advertiser, March 18, 2016, http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/blogs/moonblog/2016/03/18/alabama-wont-evolve-accept-evolution/81954794/
- 53.
Amanda Glaze, “Textbook evolution sticker hurts children’s understanding of science but also their faith,” AL.com, March 31, 2016, http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/03/textbook_evolution_sticker_hur.html
- 54.
Edward O. Wilson, Consilience (New York: Vintage, 1988), 3–4.
- 55.
The metaphor of “the light of evolution” is of course borrowed from Theodosius Dobzhansky, “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution,” The American Biology Teacher 35, no. 3 (1973), 125–129. I am grateful to Scott Brande, Amanda Glaze, Josh Rosenau, and the staff of the Alabama Department of Education for research assistance and to Eugenie C. Scott and especially Patricia H. Hawley for their insights and suggestions.
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Branch, G. (2017). “The Cadillac of Disclaimers”: Twenty Years of Official Antievolutionism in Alabama. In: Lynn, C., Glaze, A., Evans, W., Reed, L. (eds) Evolution Education in the American South. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95139-0_3
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