The Scopes Trial in Tennessee in 1925 centered on which controversial issue?

The Scopes Trial, also known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial," focused on the teaching of the theory of evolution in public schools, making it a landmark case in the debate between science and religion in education. In 1925, John T. Scopes, a high school teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was charged with violating the Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in state-funded schools. This trial became a significant event as it highlighted the broader conflict between modernist views that embraced scientific explanations of human origins and traditionalist views grounded in literal interpretations of the Bible.

The trial attracted national attention, with famous figures like Clarence Darrow representing Scopes and William Jennings Bryan opposing him. The discussions and arguments presented during the trial underscored the cultural tensions of the time related to educational curriculum, religious beliefs, and the role of science, making this issue particularly controversial.

Other options, while contentious in their own right, do not pertain to the specific focus of the Scopes Trial. Organized prayer in public schools, public school segregation, and mandatory school attendance were and are significant issues in the realm of education, but they were not the central theme of the Scopes Trial, which was specifically about the legality and appropriateness of teaching evolution