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Victory in the Challenge to Intelligent Design

Document Date: December 14, 2004

ACLU members and supporters sent messages to parents and teachers involved in the case:

“I am deeply Christian, and I deeply support your cause. Religion and science are separate realms – and they need to stay that way. The thought of a government agency instructing me or my children about religion is frightening. Thank you.
— Mike Cavosie, Indiana

More messages of support >>

FEATURES

> The Trial of Kitzmiller v. Dover
> Links Explaining Intelligent Design
> FAQs on ID and Evolution
> What Experts Say About ID
> What Parents Say About ID
> What Scientists Say About ID
> Q&A: Freedom of Religion and Belief Director Dr. Jeremy Gunn and ACLU Fellow Tania Simoncelli
> How the ACLU Defends Religious Liberty
> Report: The Assault on Scientific Freedom
> Clergy Letter Project: 10,000 signatures demonstrating the compatibility of religion and science (off-site link)

BLOGS

> ACLU-PA Leaders on the Trial
> Freedom of Religion and Belief Director on TPMCafe.com

LEGAL DOCUMENTS (PDF)

> Opinion of Judge John E. Jones III
> Pretrial Memorandum
> Dover Complaint
> Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
> Defendants’ Statement of Material Fact
> Answer to Defendants’ Statement of Material Fact

“Intelligent Design” is a religious view, not a scientific theory, according to U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III in his historic decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover.

The decision is a victory not only for the ACLU, who led the legal challenge, but for all who believe it is inappropriate, and unconstitutional, to advance a particular religious belief at the expense of our children’s education.

The lawsuit was brought by the parents who objected to the decision by the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania to promote the teaching of intelligent design in their children’s public school science classes.

Intelligent design, which cannot be tested by any scientific method, is a belief that asserts that a supernatural entity designed some complex organisms. Witnesses have demonstrated that such an assertion is inherently a religious argument that falls outside the realm of science.

As a longtime defender of religious liberty, the ACLU is leading the legal challenge against the activists and political lobbyists who are attempting to insert their personal religious beliefs into science education, as if it were science.

JUDGE’S DECISION
Opinion of Judge John E. Jones III

RECENT NEWS
Georgia School Board Drops Defense of Anti-Evolution Stickers (12/19/2006)
ACLU of Ohio Demands Schools Stop Teaching ID as Science (2/14/2006)
ACLU Hails Historic Ruling in Dover Case (12/20/2005)
Parents, Scientists Testify (10/13/2005)
Witness Says ID Is Disguised Creationism (10/5/2005)
Judge Denies Move to Stop Trial (9/13/2005)
Ark. Removes Textbook Disclaimers (7/14/2005)
Ga. Ordered to Remove Disclaimers (1/13/2005)
Pa. Parents Challenge ID (12/14/2004)

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