Religion and Science: Strange Bedfellows? Not if You Want to Combat Hate, Care for the Environment and Teach Evolution!

Religion and science, especially the science of evolution, are often viewed as being at odds with one another. And on those occasions when they come together, they’re assumed to be particularly odd bedfellows.

The reality, however, is very different.

Consider, first, one simple fact. More than 16,300 religious leaders representing a wide swath of religions and denominations, from Lutherans and Presbyterians to Methodists and Baptists, from Jewish rabbis to Buddhist clergy members, and from Roman Catholics to Unitarian Universalists, have come together to assert that evolutionary theory is a core component of human knowledge, that it must be taught in our science classrooms and laboratories, and, perhaps most importantly, that it in no way conflicts with their deeply held religious convictions.

That’s right, thousands upon thousands of ordained clergy members are promoting the teaching of evolution. They’re doing this because they understand how critical it is, especially in this disinformation age when facts are said to be less important than opinion and when expertise is disparaged, to ensure that students are exposed to the best scientific knowledge available. While they understand that science isn’t the only way to understand the human condition, that the arts, humanities and social sciences also offer valuable insights, they recognize the power of science…