Evolution and Religious Faith
NPR.org, August 8, 2005 · At its extremes, the current debate over teaching Darwin's theory of evolution pits science against religion, with the scientific community nearly unanimous in its faith in Darwin and equal certainty about divine intervention by many of deep religious faith. Taking Issue asks religious leaders what their faith tells them about the shaping of life and whether it can be reconciled with evolution.
A Muslim View
"Rather than enclose man within the biological framework of Darwinian theory, man should be seen as a creature who yearns for a rendezvous with the source of his life and existence."
Sulayman Nyang teaches at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He also serves as co-director of Muslims in the American Public Square, a research project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
A Jewish View
"Jewish tradition has always made room for both of these impulses, the one that seeks confirmation of the purposefulness and meaningfulness of existence, and the one that challenges our very definitions of those terms."
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield is the vice president of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.
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A Catholic View
George Sim Johnston
George Sim Johnston is the author of Did Darwin Get It Right: Catholics and the Theory of Evolution.
An Evangelical Baptist View
R. Albert Mohler
R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Ph.D., is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention. He hosts a daily radio program and maintains a blog.
An Episcopal View
Katharine Jefferts Schori
Katharine Jefferts Schori, Ph.D., is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada. She received a degree in marine biology from Stanford and a doctorate degree in oceanography at Oregon State University.