Creationism Act

In 1981, Louisiana enacted the "Creationism Act," also known as the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction Act. This law mandated that if evolution was taught in public schools, creationism must also be taught. The U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Edwards v. Aguillard (1987), ruled this act unconstitutional.1

The Court found that the law violated the First Amendment's establishment clause, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. The Court determined that the primary purpose of the Louisiana law was to advance a specific religious belief—that a supernatural being created humankind—rather than to serve a secular purpose like protecting academic freedom. This ruling affirmed that "creation science" is a religious doctrine, not a scientific theory, and therefore cannot be mandated in public school science curricula.12