The “Great Commoner,” William Jennings Bryan, an outspoken proponent of the historic Christian faith, and the “Great Agnostic,” Clarence Darrow, a critic of Bryan and the faith he espoused, headlined the cast during the Scopes Trial in 1925.
Their arguments were among the earliest—and most prominent—to land in court as “Modernists” and “Fundamentalists” battled over faith and science. But was the battle that new or was it a misunderstanding of the historical relationship between the two disciplines?
The public is invited on July 16 in the Scopes Trial Courtroom of the Rhea County Courthouse as Dr. Nick Spencer traces the fascinating history of the interaction of science and religion and how it contributed to what became the Scopes Trial.
Dr. Spencer, author of Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion, and presenter of the BBC Radio series The Secret History of Science and Religion, will open Evolving Conflict: Scopes at 100, a two-day program examining a range of topics related to the trial.
For more information or to secure tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/2d7k5wdx.
The Scopes Trial Centennial celebration is presented by Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation, Rhea County Historical Society, Bryan College, and the Rhea County Department of Tourism.