U.S. Judge Rules Intelligent Design Has No Place in Science Classrooms

In a decision that could have broad implications for public schools across the country, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that “intelligent design” is not legitimate science, but rather an unconstitutional religious concept with direct ties to biblically based creationism.

In a sweeping, often acerbically worded 139-page ruling released Dec. 20, U.S. District Court Judge John E. Jones III concluded that school board members in Dover, Pa., had religious motivations in approving a district policy requiring that high school students be introduced to the design concept as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

“We have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science,” the judge wrote in his opinion, referring to intelligent design. “We have concluded that it is not, and moreover, that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist,...