Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District

law case

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 17, 2026

Quick Summary

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District was a landmark legal case in 2005 concerning the teaching of intelligent design in public schools. The case arose when the Dover, Pennsylvania, school district mandated that intelligent design be presented as an alternative to biological evolution in science classes.

A federal court ruled that intelligent design is a form of creationism and therefore cannot be taught in public schools, as it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government endorsement of religion. The court found that intelligent design, like creationism, is not a scientific theory but rather a religious concept.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

intelligent design
Intelligent design and creationism
…major case on the issue, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (2005), concerning a school district in Dover, Pennsylvania, a federal court ruled that intelligent design was not clearly distinct from creationism and therefore should be excluded from the curriculum on the basis of earlier decisions, notably McLean v. Arkansas…
Read More
…major case on the issue, Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (2005), concerning a school district in Dover, Pennsylvania, a federal court ruled that intelligent design was not clearly distinct from creationism and therefore should be excluded from the curriculum on the basis of earlier decisions, notably McLean v. Arkansas…
Read More