Evolution discussion calls for coorperation, speaker tells Utah State students
Rather than bickering, the religious and scientific communities should work together to solve the world’s problems, a BYU professor and evolutionary biologist told a group of USU students and faculty Thursday.
Religion and science, especially evolution, have been traditionally seen as enemies, said Duane Jeffery, a professor of zoology and integrative biology at BYU, who spoke as part of USU’s Science Week.
An unnecessary rift has grown between religious people and scientific people in the years since Charles Darwin first proposed the theory of evolution almost 150 years ago, Jeffrey said.
“We ought to have science and religion working together rather than trying to slit each other’s throats,” he said.
Jeffery said it is unlikely that science will ever completely replace religion and equally unlikely that religion will ever replace science.
“If neither will go away, then it seems to leave us two options,” Jeffery said. “One would say that we have two separate compartments in our minds and tell science and religion to stay in those separate compartments.”
The better option, however, is science and religion should work together “symbiotically,” with each employing its own particular strengths, because religion and science both have limitations, Jeffery said. Therefore, people from both communities ought to work together to care for the “stewardship of our planet,” he said.
In order to properly care for the planet, people must accept that the Earth is old and has a long history and that evolution is “the only story that makes sense” in explaining that history and the planet’s current workings, Jeffery said. While science provides vital information on how to care for the planet, religion has far greater power than science to generate the social activism necessary to care for the planet.
Historically, many have attempted to keep schools from teaching evolution and continue to do so, Jeffery said. In past years, some have blamed the theory of evolution for everything from abortion and racism to runaway taxes, he said. Recently, he said, some have tried unsuccessfully to reintroduce religion into public schools by seeking legislation allowing or requiring the teaching of the ideas of the intelligent design movement.
Also, some people allege that politicians have deliberately ignored or distorted legitimate scientific findings in order to justify “ecological abuses,” Jeffery said. The combination of these ecological abuses and many religious people’s criticism of science “has given some very aggressive atheists an opening, and they’re now trying to blame all society’s ills on religion,” he said.
At a recent forum of scientists and philosophers called Beyond Belief, many speakers said the age of scientific enlightenment may be ending because of the public’s devotion to religion, Jeffrey said. Eventually, he said, the forum was taken over by a “mob psychology,” and the comments of many speakers amounted nearly to a “declaration of open warfare on religion.”
Despite all this conflict, however, there are many trying to bridge the gap between science and religion, Jeffery said. Several renowned scientists have recently published books in which they express their belief in the importance of religion and science working together, he said. Many religious groups have taken steps to express support of the theory of evolution and assert the belief that evolution and religion are not incompatible, he said. Jeffery himself was recently co-editor of a book compiling statements on evolution and religion from leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Jeffery has taught at BYU, which is owned by the LDS church, for more than 35 years and said he has sometimes encountered opposition as a teacher of evolution. Some students, parents and faculty members think the teaching of evolution conflicts with the church’s teachings, which can create conflict, he said.
“When I first came to BYU, there were certain people who would not shake my hand,” he said. “There are still some people who will not say hello to me.”
Such conflicts have decreased in recent years, he said, especially since 1992, when the LDS church released an official position on evolution that was more open than what was previously taught.
-dfelix@cc.usu.edu