Darwin Of Americ Lost - 1873 Words

Bethany Shouse Term Paper Religion 331 May 8, 2015 Darwin in America: Lost in Translation Modern day Americans celebrate their freedom from religion in a way unknown to Americans of the earlier centuries. The previous battles involved the right to worship both inside the classroom and out. Kicking God out of the classroom is a relatively new revolution, and arguably began with the Scopes â€Å"monkey trial.† There was a gross misunderstanding of what Charles Darwin had presented and the true meaning of his research was lost in political turmoil that was misrepresented as a religious debate. Scientists explain evolution through a complex maze of theories that have developed their own meaning over time. True Darwinism began in Europe in†¦show more content†¦Science was growing in its own right, as Dalton presented the Atomic Theory and Lyell began second-guessing the age of the Earth. The 19th century was a bombardment of radical new ideas being thrown at the general public, and being thrown out just as easily. It was this dismissal that caused Char les Darwin to err on the side of caution in his own revelation. Charles Darwin is many times seen as radical and brash. The theories that Darwin proposed were enough to change the face of religion, social culture and history as we know it. What many fail to understand is: it took Darwin twenty years to perfect his Theory of Natural Selection before he would publish On the Origin of Species. He had seen firsthand what could happen if haste, rather than reason was applied to the unveiling of his findings. Darwin made further observations of the species over the course of that twenty-year span, all the time observing not only the species that he was studying, but the changes in society as well. His observations were not made in order to create social commentary, but rather to ensure that the presentation of his research would be best received. As he watched his contemporaries present their knowledge to a very theatrical 19th century Europe, he consulted with professionals of ever y field in order to ensure that his theories would be well received and that they would stand the test of time. He would be known to Europe not as a