Darwin's publications initially met great resistance in Victorian England because they were widely regarded as an immediate threat to many traditional doctrines of Christianity. Even many scientists refused to accept Darwin's conclusions in his book "Origin of the Species," but within a couple of decades much of that resistance had melted away as people accepted the logic and evidence supporting evolutionary theory. Although there were parts of Victorian England which continued to object to Darwin's ideas about evolution, there was even more resistance in America.
Evolutionary Theory & Darwinism in America
One of the problems which inhibited more widespread acceptance of evolutionary theory was the recent Civil War — it had caused such death, destruction, and devastation that it had shaken people's belief that society (and in particular American society) was steadily advancing towards a state of greater perfection. In contrast, the Victorian prejudices in favor of "progress" overall and biological progress in particular probably helped evolutionary theory get accepted more quickly in England.
In the aftermath of extreme crises like the American Civil War, there are two common responses: to turn back and rely upon ancient traditions which are believed will strengthen society, and to seek outside enemies who are responsible for the weakening of the social group. Both occurred in the American South, the region which most negatively affected by the Civil War and which even today continues to exhibit the greatest hostility towards evolutionary science.
Social Changes After the Civil War
To begin with, people in the South began to rely more heavily upon religious traditions, eschewing modern perspectives on the Bible and Christianity in favor of literalist, orthodox interpretations. Genesis provided them with an understanding of where they belonged in the universe; Exodus provided a model for where they were going; Leviticus provided a structured system of morals and values which they could apply to their lives in an effort to become more righteous and more worthy in God's eyes.
At the same time, people in the South were also encouraged to reject the influence of outside philosophies which might undermine tradition or social bonds — and that included the new scientific idea about evolution and natural selection, not to mention developing social theories about labor, the place of women, etc. People in the American South turned inward to a significant degree, eschewing anything and everything "foreign" and especially "northern" in favor of whatever could be framed as native, southern, white, and Christian.
Christian Fundamentalism & Southern Resistance to Modernity & Science
Resistance towards evolutionary theory increased further after the turn of the century due to increasing contact with it. During this time period, more and more children started to attend public schools — especially in the rural South, where such schools were at one time very rare and attendance was even more rarely enforced. These were also the areas where acceptance of evolution was weakest, thus setting the stage for numerous state and local battles over the teaching of evolution in science classes.
Interest in opposing evolution was a key ingredient in the development of American fundamentalism. Generally a movement opposed to "modernism" (the intellectual aspect of modernity), fundamentalists sought to eliminate theological, philosophical, and scientific ideas which challenged or undermined what they regarded as orthodox and traditional Christian beliefs. They fought for what they believed to be the "fundamentals" of their faith, and the influence of evolution played an important role in their view of a degenerating society that had abandoned true Christianity.
Anti-Science and Evolution Denial in the 20th Century
This perspective only intensified with America's involvement in World War I. On the one hand. there was a sense that America was doing the right thing because both evolution and theological liberalism seemed to stem from German scientists and German theologians; reports of German barbarity in the war confirmed people's fears that Germany had become corrupted and godless by modernism and needed to be stopped by a righteous America. According to one premillennialist journal, "The new theology has led Germany into barbarism and it will lead any nation into the same demoralization."
On the other hand, there was an even stronger feeling among fundamentalists that the war in general was simply a product of modern depravity, with enough barbarism to go around to all parties involved. It's not a coincidence that early Christian fundamentalism eschewed involvement in worldly politics, a stark contrast to most fundamentalist today. Many even believed that World War I was a sign that the next millennium would soon arrive.
Once the war ended, the resulting rise of labor strife and communism reinforced fundamentalists' fears about the threats to Christianity posed by modern ideas. The teaching of evolutionary theory was in some ways just one more aspect of all this, but it was also an aspect which threatened to touch them directly and intrude in their homes. Labor strife and communist agitation generally occurred in far-off cities, but the teaching of modern science and evolutionary theory was directed at their children.
There was a feeling among many that evil state institutions were trying to wrest their children away from them, destroy the traditional family, undermine confidence in Christian scripture, and tear apart the fabric of society. These concerns are identical to the ones expressed by fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals today and they continue to target the same things they believe are the sources of their problems, including especially liberals and evolutionary scientists.
