The Understanding Evolution website deals with the science and history of evolutionary biology. This site is here to help you understand what evolution is, how it works, how it factors into your life, how research in evolutionary biology is performed, and how ideas in this area have changed over time. However, in the United States, there has been controversy in the public arena relating to evolution. Since these controversies do not deal with the science of evolutionary biology, we do not extensively address them on our site. Nevertheless, many other websites do discuss the public controversy. The following list of frequently-asked questions provides links to websites that deal with this issue.

Why do/should our schools teach evolution?

• The National Center for Science Education reviews the scientific, legal, and moral issues.
  Read it here >>

What does the law say about teaching evolution in public schools?

• The National Center for Science Education gives a general introduction to the topic.
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• They also describe major court decisions relevant to this topic.
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What happened at the Dover Trial?

• The National Center for Science Education describes the legal case of Kitzmiller v. Dover.
  Read it here >>

What statements do different religious groups make on evolution?

• The National Center for Science Education has collected statements from many different denominations and groups.
  Read it here >>

How have different scientific and educational groups responded to threats to evolution education?

• The National Center for Science Education has collected statements from scientific and scholarly organizations.
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• The National Center for Science Education has also collected statements from educational organizations.
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What is creationism?

• The National Center for Science Education describes various forms of creationism.
  Read it here >>

What is the intelligent design movement? Is it science?

• We have a short brief on the intelligent design movement.
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• The National Center for Science Education explains the intelligent design movement.
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What are some arguments made for teaching Creationism in schools and are these reasonable/legal?

• The National Center for Science Education provides a primer on challenges facing evolution education.
  Read it here >>

What objections do some anti-evolution groups raise to evolution and teaching evolution?

• We have a quick review of commonly raised concerns and objections, as well as responses, and a list of misconceptions regarding evidence, implications, and religion.
  Read it here >>
• For an extensive list of objections and responses, select a topic from the index at TalkOrigins.
  Read it here >>

What’s going on with the evolution/creationism issue right now?

• The National Center for Science Education tracks this issue across the United States.
  Read it here >>

What issues are scientists currently debating in the field of evolution?

• Scientists do not debate whether evolution took place (evidence supporting the theory of evolution is abundant); however, details of how evolution took place are hotly debated and investigated. Our Evolution 101 course reviews some issues that evolutionary biologists are debating.
  Read it here >>