Creationism is a Christian fundamentalist belief that God created all life on Earth. There are many different types of creationist beliefs. Some people believe that God guided the evolution of living beings until they developed into their current forms, while other people believe that all living creatures were originally created exactly as they are today. Creationists may debate the age of the Earth, as well. In Inherit the Wind, Brady and several other characters espouse what is known as “young-Earth creationism,” claiming that the Earth was created just 6,000 years ago. Most young-Earth creationists believe that the world was created in seven 24-hour days, a claim that Drummond explores in the play. There has been a long debate about whether it is ever appropriate for teachers to teach creationism in schools. In these debates, creationism is sometimes referred to as “intelligent design.” 

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection proposes a scientific explanation for the origin and development of life on Earth. His theory suggests that life began with single-celled organisms that gradually diversified and developed into a complex array of species. Individual organisms are more likely to survive if they are particularly well suited to their environment, which is a concept called “fitness.