The Clergy Letter Project: Bringing Together Science and Faith
Catholicism And Evolution More In Harmony than Disharmony
One of the differences in Christianity between Evangelicalism and other forms, especially Catholicism, is the interpretation of scripture. Evangelicals, building on Martin Luther’s teaching, root their doctrine only in a literal understanding of the Bible, whereas Catholics base theirs on scripture and Christian tradition.
Nowhere is this argument stronger, at least as it is seen by the secular world, than in the conflict between faith and science and more specifically evolution.
Catholics and other Christians long accepted the theory of evolution as a possibility whereas some Christians see it as a threat. The reason is due to the understanding of Bible teaching.
If you believe that every word of scripture is literally true and someone were to prove to you that God did not make the world in seven days, six thousand years ago, then that can significantly shock you into casting the whole faith enterprise away. Many former evangelicals do exactly that for they believe if one part of the Bible is not true then how can you believe any of it. Others, however, work to prove the literal interpretation of Genesis for the same reason.
Catholics never understood Genesis literally
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminded us in 2011 never has it been a Catholic understanding to take the opening chapters of the first book of the Bible literally. Catholics from the earliest days of the Church always understood the creation story, he taught, as prophesy. The greater leaders of the Church in the Early centuries:
“Did not interpret the story as an account of the process of the origins of things, but rather as a pointer towards the essential, towards the true beginning and end of our being.” He preached in his Easter Vigil homily in 2011.
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Therefore, to get Catholics to embrace creationism is not in accords with Catholic teaching. Many will hold that evolution is a theory and that is certainly true, but that does not mean that creationism is by default scientific doctrine. Further, one of the reasons for such a great rejection of faith in the secular world today is precisely because of the perceived dichotomy of choosing to believe creationism or evolution.
The economics of the textbook industry
No where does this create a problem more than in the classroom. Some Catholics schools shy away from scientific teaching on evolution believing it is forbidden by the Church; it is not. Meanwhile, school districts feel pressured to teach creationism by Christian believers who considered it settled science; it is not.
Economically, this puts textbook publishers in the bind of having to address the issue in a way that will not leave them with a host of unsellable books where large school districts refuse to teach one way or another or they can leave the subject alone altogether.
Catholicism teaches grace builds upon nature. This means that there is no separation between the infusion of grace and the process of nature. God works most in nature not so much outside of it.
Many feel that to teach evolution is to discount the concept of original sin. I always respond with the words of Protestant Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr who taught:
“The doctrine of original sin is the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith.”
Even so, anyone who shows that had humans not existed the ecosystem of the Earth would have survived well are themselves verifying the doctrine of original sin. This does not mean they are by default cancelling out any belief in evolution.
The Clergy Letter Project
One movement choosing to address the integrity of science in our country is the Clergy Letter Project, spearheaded by biologist Dr. Michael Zimmerman, the executive director.
“I founded The Clergy Letter Project because I wanted to give a voice to those clergy members who knew that religion and science need not be in conflict. The focus of our original efforts centered on evolution because that was where the tension between religion and science was greatest. Over time our members decided that it was important to highlight other ways in which religion and science came to compatible conclusions.
“One specific and one general example will make my point.
First the specific example: Members of the organization voted to take a public stance about combating climate change which led to the Climate Crisis Letter. Now the general: Members have regularly made it clear that they value expertise, expertise of all forms, both religious and scientific. This position has become critically important as congregations have depended on the advice of medical experts as they decide on whether or not to return to face-to-face worship in the face of our current pandemic.” He explains.
The letter is a calling by clergy for an understanding that science and faith can coexist and, of course, in the Catholic world that is central to our belief. Not only do we believe in grace building upon nature, but Catholics also believe in reason and faith. Some Christians believe in faith not reason and some atheists believe in reason not faith. However, a central part of our Catholic creed is the use of reason within the context of faith and vice versa.
As of September 3rd, 15,000 Christian clergy, myself included, signed it. The largest group by a wide margin. Other signers include Rabbis, Unitarian Universalists, Buddhists and Humanists.
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The letter requests a move to understand that faith and reason within the communities of belief and science must be complementary by design and not mutually exclusive.
It calls school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge.
This is where the fight is most serious because again it takes the message of science out of the hands of local school boards and puts it in the hands of scientists and educators. The goal is not to undermine either group but to ensure no opinion outside the scientific method hampers science education.
Humanis Generis
Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Humanis Generis in which he addressed the new understanding of human generation did not discount the study of evolution. He taught it was essential to believe that humanity descended from one pair of parents and not from polygenism a group of first humans in different parts of the world. I always maintain to believe that all of humanity descended into one species from five different sets of unrelated parents growing up in different environments is a bigger miracle than can be found in the Book of Genesis. After all the reason why Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands was to see species that had no interaction with other species on the mainland of the Americas or any other continent but all related through one isolated environment.
It is no secret, for example, that historically those who believe in the literal translation of Genesis and those who believe in a scientific understanding of the origins of our existence engaged in hard fought battles for their respective position. Catholics, see neither position as exclusively right or wrong, but see merit to elements of both. This often put us on the side of the scientists but incorrectly in a position that appears hostile to faith.
Our position leans more to understanding faith as the soul of science not the wall to the spread of its teachings.
The Clergy letter project states:
To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris.
The Clergy Letter Project, text of the letter and the opportunity to sign can be found at http://www.theclergyletterproject.org/