Censorship In Inherit The Wind

For centuries, religion and faith—Christianity, in particular—consistently clashed with scientific ideas and theories. The controversy and debate, beginning from the Middle Ages, ranged from issues about the position of the Earth in the solar system, to the practice of medicine. Still, creationism and evolution, sparked immense disagreement amongst the religious and scientific communities, in comparison to any other issue. While major systems of faith strongly declare that their respective God created the universe and the earth, scientists such as Charles Darwin and George Lemaitre proposed theories of evolution and the Big Bang. Unable to come to a consensus, religion and science often do not associate with each other. Furthermore, throughout history and in literature, societies that follow a rigid system of faith, such as the town of Hillsboro in Inherit the Wind, often censor scientific material from education – labeling the idea of science as taboo. However, censorship—in all regards—cannot be justified and must be acknowledged as immoral.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee, Inherit the Wind, although fictional and dramatized, acts as a recount of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial – also known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. In July of

As stated previously, Inherit the Wind focuses primarily on the merits and justifications of censoring the theory of evolution, due to the religiously strict climate of the town, Hillsboro. For instance, Reverend Jeremiah Brown, an important and significant preacher in the town, with his own skewed interpretation of Christianity, firmly believes in Biblical literalism. Every other Christian in the town, influenced by Brown, also shares his “tunnel vision”, and displays an inability to acknowledge science, understanding Christianity and the Bible as the only truths. In a public prayer meeting, Brown proclaims, with his followers in