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University of North Carolina Press

In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement

In the Beginning: Fundamentalism, the Scopes Trial, and the Making of the Antievolution Movement

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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.

Reaching back to the origins of antievolutionism in the 1920s, and continuing to the promotion of intelligent design today, Michael Lienesch skillfully analyzes the creationism movement, one of the most formidable political movements of the twentieth century. With fresh insights, 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.



Author: Michael Lienesch
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 09/01/2009
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780807861912

About the Author
Lienesch, Michael: - Michael Lienesch is professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His previous books include Redeeming America: Piety and Politics in the New Christian Right (UNC Press).

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