Regarding Darwinism, what does the debate tell us about the places of science and religion in the late 19th century? What were both sides trying to say about the kind of society they wanted to live in? Or if you like: which of these three possible solutions best fits the mindset of the time? (1) science crowds religion out of the picture, or vice-versa; (2) science and religion are two entirely separate realms and should not be compared or contrasted; or (3) science and religion can find common ground and integrate with each other.

NOTE: What you are not being asked to do in this discussion is a rehash of today's controversy, which has (if you'll excuse the expression) evolved way beyond what it was in the 1870s and 1880s. Fundamentalism, creationism, intelligent design, sociobiology, genetics, ecology, evolutionary psychology, anthropology - none of these ideas existed yet. Try to be "historically-minded" - that is, put yourself into the heads of people living at that time. No, it's not easy; that's why we do it.