the separation of church and state

Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial (2007) is a NOVA documentary examining the age-old discussion of evolution versus creationism and its place in the modern classroom. This thought provoking video examines both sides of the argument, as presented before a federal judge, examining what evolution is, what intelligent design is, and if it violates the separation between church and state laws. Both sides present their case, call their witnesses, and endeavor to draw a clear distinction between what belongs in a science classroom and what does not.

This documentary would be an excellent showing during a biology class, history class, philosophy class, psychology class, or a humanities class. The topics discussed are universal to the human condition.

Of the 43 questions on this documentary video guide, the overwhelming majority are higher-order in nature, with only a scattering of lower-level types. But if the students are paying attention, they can answer them all.

The concepts discussed include evolution, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, creationism, the concept (and implications) of a creator, intelligent design, an intelligent designer, the separation of church and state, the Scopes monkey trial, the tree of life, natural selection, transitional fossils, genetic mutations, chromosomal mutations, irreducible complexity, and the wedge strategy.