A century ago, the quiet town of Dayton, Tennessee, became the battleground for one of the most iconic trials in American history a courtroom clash that symbolized the collision between science and religion. On July 21, 1925, John T. Scopes, a substitute teacher, was convicted for teaching human evolution in defiance of a state law. Today, Catholics and scholars reflect on what the trial meant for faith, reason, and the Church’s approach to human origins.
The so-called "Scopes Monkey Trial" drew national attention, with agnostic lawyer Clarence Darrow defending Scopes and fundamentalist Christian politician William Jennings Bryan representing the state’s case. Though Scopes was fined a modest sum $100, later overturned the real legacy of the trial lay in the cultural and ideological war it ignited. Darrow's intense interrogation of Bryan on the Bible sought to frame the trial as more than a legal dispute; it became a stage for broader tensions between secularism and Christianity, science and Scripture.
However, modern Catholic scholars argue that the popular “science vs. religion” narrative oversimplifies the historical reality. Dominican Father Thomas Davenport, a physicist and theologian, insists that Catholicism was never inherently opposed to evolutionary theory. The debate, he suggests, was largely internal to American Protestantism, which lacked the philosophical and theological tools that Catholic tradition offers to reconcile faith with scientific discovery.
Kenneth Kemp, a retired philosophy professor and author of The War That Never Was, agrees. He emphasizes that the Scopes trial was less a duel between atheism and religion, and more a complex mix of disagreements among believers and skeptics alike. Christians stood on both sides of the evolution argument, as did those skeptical of religion. According to Kemp, the historical memory of the trial has been distorted to fit ideological narratives that favor conflict over nuance.
Historically, the Catholic Church has approached evolution with caution but not outright rejection. As early as the mid-19th century, Catholic thinkers explored the compatibility of evolution with theological anthropology. While some views like the purely material evolution of the human body were criticized or even censured, the Church never dogmatically rejected the idea that human bodies may have evolved from earlier life forms, as long as the soul is understood to be a unique creation by God.
By the 1920s, Catholics in America generally kept their distance from the fiery debates sparked by the Scopes trial. A 1925 article in America magazine highlighted that both sides of the courtroom represented extremes: one side wishing to impose fundamentalist Christianity as a state religion, and the other aiming to tear down Christian belief altogether.
It wasn’t until 1950, with the encyclical Humani Generis, that the Vatican explicitly permitted belief in human bodily evolution, provided that Catholics maintained the doctrine that souls are divinely created and all humans descend from a common ancestral pair traditionally Adam and Eve. This position, balancing doctrinal faithfulness with scientific openness, remains the Church’s official teaching.
Today, belief in evolution among American Catholics is not only accepted but widespread. A 2024 Gallup poll found that 62% of self-identified Catholics accept the theory of evolution, a figure higher than the national average. Yet, this doesn’t mean there is no internal debate. Catholic creationist groups, like the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, continue to defend a literal interpretation of Genesis, including six-day creationism.
Hugh Owen, director of the Kolbe Center, argues that defending the traditional reading of Genesis is essential for preserving a coherent view of God. He warns that many Catholics have not been exposed to arguments against evolution and claims that much of the scientific evidence historically used to support evolution such as the Piltdown Man and the discredited embryonic recapitulation theory was fraudulent or misunderstood.
Still, Catholic scientists like Daniel Kuebler, a biology professor at Franciscan University, caution against equating evolution with materialism. Kuebler emphasizes that evolution, as a scientific theory, does not preclude the existence of the soul or the divine origin of humanity. In fact, he asserts, evolutionary biology explains biological processes, but cannot account for the full mystery of the human person who possesses an immortal soul that science alone cannot explain.
Kuebler also highlights that fossil records and genetic evidence offer strong support for human evolution. Intermediary fossils, increasing cranial capacity, and upright locomotion point to an ape-like ancestor, while shared DNA with chimpanzees provides a molecular link. For many Catholic scientists, this evidence harmonizes with the belief in a spiritual soul uniquely bestowed by God.
The 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial offers Catholics an opportunity to revisit not just the courtroom drama that once gripped the nation, but also the larger question of how faith and reason coexist. As the Church continues to engage with modern science, its mission remains rooted in seeking truth both revealed and discovered without fear of contradiction. Evolution, for many Catholics, is no longer a threat, but a testament to the unfolding wisdom of creation.