Evolution and God Not Mutually Exclusive
The Science Times section in the NYT today has a short profile on Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion. Dr. Ayala is an evolutionary biologist and geneticist at the University of California, Irvine. He spends much of his time lecturing on evolution and its compatibility with belief in God. The Times reports:
Dr. Ayala, a former Dominican priest, said he told his audiences not just that evolution is a well-corroborated scientific theory, but also that belief in evolution does not rule out belief in God. In fact, he said, evolution “is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for.”
…
[He] dismisses the argument that it is only fair to teach both sides of the evolution/creationism controversy. “We don’t teach alchemy along with chemistry,” he said. “We don’t teach witchcraft along with medicine. We don’t teach astrology with astronomy.”
He said he was saddened when he saw the embrace of evolution identified with, as he put it, “explicit atheism,” as in the books of the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins or other writers on science and faith.
Neither the existence nor nonexistence of God is susceptible to scientific proof, Dr. Ayala said, and equating science with the abandonment of religion “fits the prejudices” of advocates of intelligent design and other creationist ideas.
Sound bites proclaiming the opposition of science and religion tend to drown out more moderate voices calling attention to the compatibility of belief in evolution with belief in God. However, many religious institutions, including the Catholic Church, already support or explicitly endorse the latter view. With the brouhaha over recent creationist movie Expelled, and ongoing disputes about teaching “intelligent design” in the classroom, scientists and religious believers alike have a strong interest in making sure that voices like Dr. Ayala’s come through loud and clear. Failing to do so does a disservice to science and religion alike.
Sirine Shebaya, Ph.D. is a Greenwall Fellow in Bioethics and Health Policy at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.
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