Evolutionary theory explains the unity and diversity of life and is based on many lines of evidence. However, there are common misperceptions in the general public that evolution is somehow more tentative, less testable, or fundamentally different than other scientific explanations. The most common ideological conflicts with evolution arise from certain religious beliefs that view evolutionary theory as contradicting beliefs about God, human nature, or the age of the Earth. However, most religions do not perceive evolutionary theory to be in conflict with their beliefs because science and religion answer fundamentally different types of questions. Over the past 100 years, religiously motivated legislation aimed at weakening evolution education in schools has been repeatedly attempted in many states across the US, and in some cases these policies have been enacted. However, state and federal courts have repeatedly upheld that evolutionary theory is valid science and that ideological viewpoints such as “scientific creationism” and “intelligent design” violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution and therefore should not be taught in science classrooms in public schools.
For more, see NCSE's recommendations for addressing ideological conflicts and misconceptions about evolution.