Freedom and Religious Restrictions

Reading upon the John Scopes Trial or what many people have called "The Monkey Trial" have stirred my thoughts. I started wondering on what if the same scenario happens today? Will there be issues like what Scopes experienced?

In the academia, will there be unreasonable controls that are too tight to allow teachers and student to express intellectual thoughts? Will they be restricted though in a school setting, which ironically is a place supposed to be the breeding ground of knowledge and intellectual stimulus? What if freedom of speech is taken away, like in the 20s, will students be not allowed to freely partake in the learning process, where teachers are not permitted to teach rightfully in the classrooms to instill critical thinking in their students' mind? What if the same scenario occurs again where students can not decide on what concepts to embrace or believe in because of conflicting religious and political conflicts?

When judicial control was an important factor in the exercise of one's freedom of expression, such as in the freedom to teach, amidst religious restrictions, we came up with different ethical issues that could possibly be related to our existence in our modern society. If there is no separation of church and state, then, the academic world will turn into a fear-based environment where learning will semi-exist, if it will exist at all. Suddenly the issues become socioeconomic where one's job security is at stake and becomes the main focus instead of students' true learning for intellect's sake. The sociopolitical and religious factors would be on our face in my scenario that I have hypothesized. What if the Scopes era comes back, or something near like it, there might be possible state laws, or even federal, that could be enacted, which could be unconstitutional because they suppress expressive activity. Thoughts like this came to my mind during the seminar, but since it is quite a big group, I have to write my thoughts here instead.

Somehow my thoughts drift on things that we take for granted. I am thinking about different ways, proper ways, of exercising free speech along with the ethical issues that could be involved. It is interesting to know that in the early part of the last century that there was a trial like the Scopes Trial which showed us now how freedom of speech was regulated. If his case existed then, I should never take for granted my freedom in the academia that I am currently enjoying -- learning for learning's sake. At least, in our time in history, learning is still without fear.