A Liberal Dose
June 24, 2021
Troy D. Smith
“Why Do So Many
Southerners Not Trust Science?”
A reader who moved into the area a few years ago
recently asked if I would use my column to address their question: Why do so
many Southerners not believe in science? I decided that I would first turn to
an expert in this area, so I asked my colleague from Tennessee Tech, Laura
Smith (no relation), who also lives in Sparta. Laura teaches at Tech, and is
finishing up her history dissertation for her PhD. I’m going to share with you
what she said, then –in probably the next two columns –I will give my take on
it.
Laura Smith:
“I’ve been in the
classroom teaching about science and medicine for years, and it never fails
that each semester a student will ask me why Southerners are so opposed to
science. Like many myths in history, the
idea that Southerners are opposed to science is an overgeneralization, but also
like many other myths in history, its roots lie not in the past but more in the
present. In my dissertation, I study the
founding of medical schools in the nineteenth century American South and deal
with that question: were Southerners against medical schools because they were
against science? The answer depends on
who you asked, but it has more to do with race and class than it does with
being from the South. African Americans,
poor people, and women have historically been the people to suffer most from
the ‘progress’ of science and medicine.
They were long victims of experimentation, careless healthcare, and even
bodysnatching for instruction in medical schools. But Southerners in general and especially
white males were not enemies of science.
Doctors and lay people largely associated medicine and science with
social progress. Most interestingly,
they believed that Southerners needed to study medicine so that they could
better understand specifically Southern diseases, and local communities donated
large amounts of money to ensuring their success.
So if it’s not true that
Southerners have always opposed science, why do so many people think that? The answer lies not in the distant past but
in the twentieth century Scopes trial.
The Scopes trial took place in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee where a high
school teacher by the name of John T. Scopes was tried for violating a recent
Tennessee act that banned teaching human evolution in public schools. Up to this point, most people thought that it
was fine to believe both in science and their religious convictions. But by the early 1900s, media coverage of the
fossil evidence for human evolution was growing as was the passion of Christian
fundamentalists who believed in a literal as opposed to symbolic interpretation
of the Bible. At the same time, more
Southern children were attending public schools for the first time and hearing
Darwin’s theories. Fundamentalists
pushed for the act which carried with it the strong implication that any
teaching other than creationism was atheistic.
The trial was a spectacle that made money for all involved. Thus, right here in Tennessee there began a
manufactured fight pitting science and Southern religion. It is a narrative that has been picked up by
conservative politicians appealing to Southern voters not to trust scientists
to this day. It’s important to remember
that many Christian scientists have argued a reconciliation of evolution and
religion by placing God as the controlling force choosing favorable traits that
would pass to further generations. It’s
up to you what you believe, but the history of the evolution debate as well as
the media coverage of this Southern trial has subconsciously shaded the way we
view science and the South ever since.”
I agree with my friend Laura that distrust in science
is not specifically a Southern phenomenon.
Or was it, traditionally, a liberal or conservative one –but it has
become a conservative one in the 21st century, not just in the South
but all over the country. Why?
Stay tuned.
--Troy D.
Smith, a White County native, is a novelist and a history professor at
Tennessee Tech. His words do not necessarily represent TTU.
A complete list of "A Liberal Dose" columns can be found HERE
A list of other historical essays that have appeared on this blog can be found HERE
Author's website: www.troyduanesmith.com
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