A monkey's uncle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A monkey's uncle - Essay Example John Scopes a school teacher from Tennessee was indicted in violation of law by teaching a evolution theory in the public school. The case promised to be an unprecedented show due to the controversial topic and number of eminent participants. Local town leaders could not but use the publicity in order to help their small town. Jennings Bryan considering the evolution theory improbable worried about the erosion of the young people’s moral health. According to his logic the evolution theory and the low percentage of the believers among youth presented a real threat to the future of the society. Having received the strong support from the worried parents he decided to fight teaching Darwinism at schools. In early 1925 his political campaign resulted in a legislative changes, known as the Butler Act which prohibited the denial of the Biblical account of man’s origin and teaching of the evolution theory in the public schools of Tennessee.1 So it was no surprise when Bryan re ceived a request to join the prosecution team in the Dayton trial on behalf of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association and local prosecutor Sue Hicks (Linder, â€Å"William Jennings Bryan†). In contrast Clarence Darrow, as a modernist, had opposite views on the religion vs. science issue. He was convinced that religious fundamentalism threatened the entire system of public education by doubting the skepticism of inquiry that moved the progress (Linder, â€Å"Clarence Darrow†). When Darrow found out that Bryans was going to lead the prosecution team, he decided to volunteer to challenge Bryan’s program and him personally. In spite of the reluctant attitude of the American Civil Liberties Union leadership, the defendant John Scopes insisted on the Darrow’s participation as a defender. Though the case resembled with the eternal struggle of the opposite good and evil, it still was a prosecutor and defender matter which strategy was rigidly prepa red by both sides. The Prosecution focused on two things: the prove of the actual violation of the Butler?s Act by John Scopes; and influence on the public and jury by using the religious rhetoric and socializing with the local population. The defense in its turn made a stake on the repealing the indictment on the state and federal constitutional levels seeking the declaration in higher instance of that the prohibiting evolution theory in public schools was unconstitutional. Here should be made a short remark over the constitutional grounds of the issue. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment guaranties the protection of the of the US citizens from the using public fund or establishments to favor any particular religious tradition over another, or non-religion over the religion, or religion over non-religion. Hence, teaching of evolution as a scientific theory does not contradict to the First Amendment. Today the controversy between evolution and creationism remains as an i mportant question in the American society. The status of teaching these topics is under constant debate in legal, religious and political circles. While some religions do not reject the evolution theory several fundamentalist branches of Christianity zealously resist its teaching. However, after normally it is taught in the science courses. Teaching of creationism and intelligent design as science due to its obvious religious background were declared unconstitutional. The core of the current debate lies in the different views on whether evolution/intelligent design

Cultural experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Cultural experience - Essay Example The report also indicated that a majority of immigrants in the country hailed from countries such as the United Kingdom, China, and New Zealand. Today, Australia appears like a new country in another land, thanks to the diversity of the country. The Australia multicultural policy has promoted the country’s shared values and cultural traditions (Hugo 2005, p. 9). In addition, it allows people from other countries who chose to call Australia their home the right to share and practice their cultural traditions and languages free from discrimination or interference from the government. Almost one quarter of Australian population, (4 million people) speak other languages other than English (Griffiths 2010). The country also allows the freedom of religion. For instance, when one drives along the streets of Sidney, he or she is amazed to see mosques at different locations in the city. Al-Zahra Mosque is one among the many mosques in the country that a friend of mine once attended to learn of the Islamic mode of prayers. The Mosque is located in Australia’s capital Sydney and acts as a place of worship for the Muslim faithful (Jamal and Chandab 2005, p.6). The friend of mine reveals that the Mosque’s environment was so amazing that one could easily tell by far that the place is indeed a Muslim territory. This is evident right from the structure of the mosque, as he could easily see a tall tower, commonly referred to as the Minaret. The Minaret is standing tall on the building with loudspeakers attached to it. The loud speakers, he was told are used to announce to the muslin faithful of the beginning of the service. It was also through interaction with the congregants that he realized that, in Islam refer to God as Allah. He also asserted that he was so amazed to learn that Muslims do not believe in the existence of Jesus Christ and the Christians do. Instead, they believe in the existence of Prophet Muhammad. The friend also revealed that the envir onment looked peculiar from that of a church. As a result, other members of the congregation could easily single him out from the rest. This is because, whereas he was dressed in full black suite, which was quite different from the way the Muslim faithful were dressed. For instance, most men were dressed in white robes, while their female counterparts were mostly dressed in black robes, according to the friend of mine. He was also amazed by the fact that most women wore robes, which covered their faces making it difficult to different the women. He even kept wondering how these women were breathing in those robes. It was also interesting for him to learn that before entering the Mosque, every member of the congregation is required to remove the shoes since the mosque is considered a holy place. This look peculiar to him since he did not anticipate being subjected to removal of shoes. In addition, just outside the entrance of the mosque is a special place designated for leg, mouth, n eck, face, nose, and hand washing before anyone can be allowed to proceed to the service. The friend reveals that the inside wall of the Mosque is beautifully decorated with Islamic artifacts made of different symbols and Arabic writings. He also noted that, unlike Christians who pray in a single room, Islam does not allow such mixing. Instead, the Muslim men and women have different rooms for prayers. However, prayers are conducted by a single Imam who direct prayers from the men’s room using a loud speaker fixed in other rooms as well to enable women to follow the service and imitate what the imam says. The friend was also flabbergasted to learn that the building had very few chairs, as the entire Mosque is just a hall with a carpet laid on the floor. As such, congregants sit on the floor on carpets