Part 1 Facts of the Case? Edwards v. Aguillard

Edwards v. Aguillard.


“In a 7-2 decision written by Justice Brennan in 1987, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's "Creationism Act" because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.” (http://atheism.about.com/)
“A Louisiana law entitled the "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act" prohibited the teaching of the theory of evolution in the public schools unless that instruction was accompanied by the teaching of creation science.”(oyez.org) This of course violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Brennan found first that the Act did not have a secular purpose, and second that it did not advance academic freedom and restricted the abilities of teachers to teach what they deemed appropriate. Moreover, Louisiana provided instructional packets to assist in the teaching of creationism but nothing of the sort for the teaching of evolution - thus demonstrating an interest in promoting creationism and religion.