McLean V. Arkansas - Arkansas Act 590

Arkansas Act 590

Arkansas Act 590 of 1981, entitled the "Balanced Treatment for Creation Science and Evolution Science Act," mandated that "creation science" be given equal time in public schools with evolution.

Creation science was defined as follows:

"Creation science means the scientific evidences for creation and inferences from those evidences. Creation science includes the scientific evidences and related inferences that indicate:

  1. Sudden creation of the universe, energy and life from nothing.
  2. The insufficiency of mutation and natural selection in bringing about development of all living kinds from a single organism.
  3. Changes only with fixed limits of originally created kinds of plants and animals.
  4. Separate ancestry for man and apes.
  5. Explanation of the earth's geology by catastrophism, including the occurrence of worldwide flood.
  6. A relatively recent inception of the earth and living

Evolution science was defined as follows:

"Evolution-science" means the scientific evidences for evolution and inferences from those scientific evidences. Evolution-science includes the scientific evidences and related inferences that indicate:

  1. Emergence by naturalistic processes of the universe from disordered matter and emergence of life from nonlife;
  2. The sufficiency of mutation and natural selection in bringing about development of present living kinds from simple earlier kinds;
  3. Emergency by mutation and natural selection of present living kinds from simple earlier kinds;
  4. Emergence of man from a common ancestor with apes;
  5. Explanation of the earth's geology and the evolutionary sequence by uniformitarianism; and
  6. An inception several billion years ago of the earth and somewhat later of life.

The Act was signed into law by Governor Frank D. White on March 19, 1981.

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