The current controversy over teaching evolution in the public
schools has grabbed front-page headlines and topped news broadcasts
all across the United States.
In the Beginning investigates
the movement that has ignited debate in state legislatures and at
school board meetings. Reaching back to the origins of
antievolutionism in the 1920s, and continuing to the promotion of
intelligent design today, Michael Lienesch skillfully analyzes one
of the most formidable political movements of the twentieth
century.
Applying extensive original sources and social movement theory,
Lienesch begins with fundamentalism, describing how early
twentieth-century fundamentalists worked to form a collective
identity, to develop their own institutions, and to turn evolution
from an idea into an issue. He traces the emerging antievolution
movement through the 1920s, examining debates over Darwinism that
took place on college campuses and in state legislatures throughout
the country. With fresh insights and analysis, Lienesch retells the
story of the 1925 Scopes "monkey" trial and reinterprets its
meaning. In tracking the movement from that time to today, he
explores the rise of creation science in the 1960s, the alliance
with the New Christian Right in the 1980s, and the development of
the theory of intelligent design in our own time. He concludes by
speculating on its place in the politics of the twenty-first
century.
In the Beginning is essential for understanding the
past, present, and future debates over the teaching of
evolution.