Todd Wood
[Originally published March 9, 2025 as Scopes Trial Centennial Events]
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial, which took place right here in the historic Rhea County Courthouse, not two miles from the Core Academy offices.
It’s definitely a strange event all the way around. Part media circus, part legal showdown, part religious debate — and everyone’s understanding of it is warped by Inherit the Wind.
Beneath all the mythology, though, the trial’s issues are just as relevant today as they were then.
The prosecution argued that it was within the rights of the state’s citizens to decide what state employees were allowed to teach in the classroom. The defense argued that the majority could not trample on the rights of the minority.
The trial devolved into a personal grudge match of agnostic Clarence Darrow vs. fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan, and the case of creation vs. evolution was hardly even litigated. But the historical significance of the trial is enormous, as it set in motion a series of events that would eventually give us the modern creationist revival.
Naturally, with such a big anniversary as this, some events are happening, and I thought it would be helpful to put them all in one convenient post. First, let’s do the big university things.
Over at Vanderbilt, they’re having a full-on symposium on July 12–13 featuring lectures from Sean Carroll, Jonathan Losos, and Briana Pobiner, among others. The cost is $250 for the weekend, and you can get more information at their website.
Then UTK is having a whole series of events throughout the rest of the spring semester. You can check out their schedule of events at their website.
Locally, the Rhea Heritage Preservation Foundation is sponsoring a series of events throughout the year. You can find out more about the whole schedule at their special Scopes Centennial website scopes100.com.
Two events I’d like to draw your attention to. First is the kickoff event at the end of March. Pulitzer prize-winning historian Ed Larson will be at Bryan College for a dinner on Friday March 21 and then a morning presentation at the Rhea County Courthouse on Saturday March 22. Dinner is $45, and the morning presentation is free. This kickoff event marks roughly the 100th anniversary of Tennessee’s passage of the anti-evolution Butler Act.
Then, in the summer, on the anniversary of the trial itself, Rhea Heritage will present their own symposium, Evolving Conflict, which features Ed Larson, John Hawks, and Nick Spencer, among others (I will also be presenting with Paul Garner on the history of creationism). That’s scheduled for July 16–17. (Full disclosure: Larson will be at the Vanderbilt, UTK, and Rhea Heritage events.)
The symposium will be followed by the usual Scopes Trial play on the weekend. Both the symposium and play will take place in the courtroom where the trial happened 100 years ago. Check out all the details at their website.
What about Core Academy?
You might remember that I go every summer to the Origins conference, organized by the Creation Biology Society, Creation Geology Society, and Creation Theology Society. This summer, Origins is scheduled for July 20–23 at Bryan College. We’ll be focusing on the theme “A Century of Creation,” which looks back to how far we’ve come and looks to the future for where we’re going next.
Regular tickets are $150, and there’s a student discount as well as campus housing available. The evening plenary sessions are free and open to the public, and there’s a special Creation Discovery Day available for teens on the Wednesday after the conference. Get more information on the Origins conference at their website.
And that’s it! Happy anniversary, everyone!
