January 2025 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following 18 items:
- Religion and Science Weekend 2025;
- Across the Cosmos for January 2025: The Vera Rubin Observatory, Dark Energy, and Participatory Science;
- Preaching and Neuroscience;
- More Christian Education Coming to Texas Public Schools;
- Promoting Religion and Science on BlueSky I;
- Promoting Religion and Science on BlueSky II;
- Religious Hypocrisy in Texas;
- Revisiting a 17-Year-Old Evolution Weekend Video;
- Spiritual Experience: A Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Retreat;
- Why Mike Johnson's Fake Thomas Jefferson Prayer Matters;
- Fostering Mutual Understanding in Times of Polarization;
- Religion and the Deadly Rise of Anti-Science;
- Concerned or Complicit?;
- A Billion Years of Tectonic Change;
- The Scopes Trial Revisited;
- The Scopes Trial’s Descendants;
- From Creationism to Christian Nationalism; and
- Well-Deserved Recognition for Glenn Branch.
1. Religion and Science Weekend 2025
Religion and Science Weekend is quickly approaching and I am confident that many of you who have not yet been added to our list of participants are actually planning to participate. Please check the list and if you’re not yet included, drop me a note and let me know. I’ll get you added immediately.
In recent days I’ve come to realize that many of you are still confused about how Religion and Science Weekend works. With that in mind, let me attempt a very brief explanation. Since its inception 20 years ago, the weekend has been designed as a decentralized event. In other words, no travel is necessary to participate! Each participating congregation (or other group) does so on its own, at its own time, in its own space. What brings the weekend together is the fact that so many groups are exploring various aspects of the compatibility of religion and science, in their own way, at the same time. (Well, sort of at the same time since you can participate any time in the temporal vicinity of Religion and Science Weekend – 14-16 February 2025 – that’s convenient!) You can participate by doing anything you deem appropriate, presenting a sermon, a class for adults or for kids, hosting a speaker, watching a film, discussing a book, or anything else.
You can focus your event on the theme selected by membership this year, Religion and Science: Living in Awe, or you can focus on any other topic you deem appropriate.
With the Weekend scheduled a mere couple of weeks after the presidential inauguration, this year discussing ways to search for truth, the importance of truth, and a demonstration that religion can be so much richer than promoting Christian Nationalism seems more critical than ever. I hope we can increase participation and make an impressive statement about the power of religion and science working together, especially in a divided world.
Similarly, with the US government likely pulling back from taking meaningful climate change action, we need to be even more vocal about the importance of continuing to move forward so this might be a focus you find attractive.
And with this being the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial, you might opt to center your Religion and Science Weekend discussion on how far (or not) we’ve come over the past century.
Again, whatever you choose to do is great. To date, we’ve reached well over 1.5 million people directly with our annual message. Let’s reach even more this year!
_____ Yes, this is an important time for disseminating this message. Please sign my congregation up as a participant in Religion and Science Weekend 2025
Name:
Congregation (or other entity):
Location:Together, let’s help shape the future we so desperately want and fear we are losing.
2. Across the Cosmos for January 2025: The Vera Rubin Observatory, Dark Energy, and Participatory Science
In this month’s essay, Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, discusses the soon-to-be-operational Vera Rosen Observatory and what it might mean for our understanding of dark matter and dark energy.
The first national observatory to be named after a woman(1) is expected to commence science operations this year. There are so many things to say about this incredible facility that it’s hard to know where to begin! Perhaps the best place to start is with the observatory’s namesake, astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin. Dr. Rubin’s observations of the rotation curves of galaxies provided convincing evidence for the existence of dark matter,(2) a discovery that earned her the National Medal of Science in 1993.(3) Understanding the nature of dark matter, and the even more mysterious dark energy, is one of the principal science goals that the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) was designed to address.
So-called “dark energy” is thought to be responsible for the accelerated expansion of the Universe, which was discovered through careful measurements of the distances to exploding stars known as Type 1A supernovae. This discovery earned Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.(4) A recent article that appeared in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society suggests that dark energy may actually be an illusion.(5) Understandably, this article has garnered much media attention.(6) The authors propose that current observations may be better explained by relativistic effects that come into play due to the Universe’s patchy structure.
The new study, which utilizes a catalogue that contains more than a thousand Type 1A supernovae, presents a compelling challenge to the Standard Model of Cosmology; however, more observations are required to distinguish between the competing models. The VRO, which is expected to increase the number of studied Type 1A supernovae from thousands to millions, may help settle the question.
It is worth noting that in the Standard Model, dark matter and dark energy account for 95% of the contents of the Universe. The modifier “dark” before “matter” and “energy” underscores our ignorance. Studies enabled by instruments like the VRO may bring on paradigm shifts that raise entirely different questions about the nature of the Universe… and that’s what makes science so much fun!
Other VRO goals include enabling detailed studies of our Solar System, the Milky Way, and monitoring diverse objects that change position or brightness over time. The VRO is expected to gather about 20 terabytes (i.e., one trillion bytes!) of data per night during its projected 10-year survey.(7) A collaboration between the VRO and Zooniverse will provide many opportunities for people of all ages and walks of life to become collaborators with scientists by participating in the diverse research made possible – their website currently lists several projects related to VRO science that you can contribute to now!(8)
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (she/her/hers) (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist & Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/gwchase)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: www.casiras.org)1. https://rubinobservatory.org
2. https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin
3. https://new.nsf.gov/honorary-awards/national-medal-science/recipients/vera-c-rubin
4. https://www.aip.org/news/2011-nobel-prize-physics-accelerating-expansion-universe
5. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/536/2/1752/7890815
6. See, for example, the short Universe Today podcast: https://scitechdaily.com/dark-energy-may-be-an-illusion-scientists-uncover-a-lumpy-universe/
7. https://rubinobservatory.org/explore/how-rubin-works/lsst
8. https://rubinobservatory.org/explore/citizen-science/
3. Preaching and Neuroscience
Ed Foley, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and the director of the Templeton Foundation Preaching with the Sciences project, is also the director of the Lilly project entitled Preaching and Neuroscience. That project has just launched an exciting new website which explains that the project’s goal is to bridge “faith and science to transform preaching, move hearts, and inspire change.” You can read more about this wonderful project by visiting their website here.
4. More Christian Education Coming to Texas Public Schools
The Abilene Independent School District has decided to apply for a $1 million grant to incorporate Bluebonnet Learning into their curriculum. The curriculum is infused with Biblical teaching. As you can see in this article, not everyone in the community is pleased with this move. At the state level, Texas has now offered a financial incentive of $60 per student to districts adopting Bluebonnet Learning. The push to include one narrow religious perspective in public schools is clearly gathering steam.
5. Promoting Religion and Science on BlueSky I
Last month I noted that I had opened an account on BlueSky. Since then, I’ve been interacting with people there and have had a number of interesting experiences. While what I’ve seen is consistent with what I’ve long believed, it is fascinating to see things play out as they have. Let me explain. There seem to be two distinct groups of people currently present on BlueSky. The first are members of the clergy or their supporters who often note that they are Christians “but not that kind of Christian.” The second is a group who seem to despise anything religious because of the behavior and beliefs of extreme fundamentalists. I’ve spent some time interacting individually with members of both groups and have found some common ground, brought some people into The Clergy Letter Project, and tempered the feelings of some who began by being fully dismissive.
Here are two postings that seem to generate discussion:
How'd we get here? Been reading through biographies on BlueSky & seeing many saying they're Christian "but not that kind of Christian" & we all know what they mean. Take back religion and let's do good in the world. Trust science, search for truth. Join The Clergy Letter Project - stronger together.
What do 1000s of Christian, Jewish, UU, Buddhist & Humanist clergy have in common? They all believe that religion & science can be compatible, only science should be taught in public school science classes, truth matters, climate change is real and we must act. They are The Clergy Letter Project!
Join me on BlueSky and have some interesting, fruitful conversations. You can find me here.
6. Promoting Religion and Science on BlueSky II
Six years ago, when the Trump administration was separating migrant children from their parents, I wrote an essay explaining how, from both a religious and a scientific perspective, abhorrent this policy was. (You can read what I wrote here.) Now, six years later, Trump’s incoming minions are planning to do it all over again. Here’s what I posted on BlueSky:
Disgraceful inhumane Trump policies are back separating kids from parents. The Clergy Letter Project opposed this 6 years ago & is still opposed. No reason to write a new essay since the new policy is just as bad as the old one https://medium.com/@michaelzimmerman_40329/incarcerating-children-not-in-our-name-5cf581326016). Join us at The Clergy Letter Project.
7. Religious Hypocrisy in Texas
Svante Myrick, the president of People for the American Way, recently published an op-ed piece in The Hill, decrying the hypocrisy taking place in Texas educational circles. He argues that “Right-wing activists make a lot of noise about ‘parental rights,’ but this scheme is profoundly disrespectful to parents — Christians and non-Christians alike — who believe the responsibility for their children’s religious upbringing belongs to families and faith communities, not state officials.” He quotes from an op-ed written by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum: “embedding one form of Christian orthodoxy into schooling betrays the promise and purpose of public education to serve all students, including Christian students who don’t believe that version of Christianity.” You can read his essay here.
8. Revisiting a 17-Year-Old Evolution Weekend Video
In this, the 20th year of Religion and Science Weekend (in its various incarnations), I thought it would be fun to look back at what one congregation did 17 years ago. The Rev. Eric Elnes shared a video that he made for his congregation at the time, the Scottsdale Congregational United Church of Christ in Scottsdale, AZ. Perhaps the video will give you some ideas about how you might celebrate this year’s Religion and Science Weekend. You can view the video here.
9. Spiritual Experience: A Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Retreat
The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS) has issued a call for papers for its annual summer conference. The theme of the conference is “Spiritual Experience: A Scientific, Philosophical and Theological Retreat” and will take place from June 22 to June 29, 2025. You can learn more about the call here.
10. Why Mike Johnson's Fake Thomas Jefferson Prayer Matters
Rep. Mike Johnson, speaker of the US House of Representatives, during his acceptance speech, referenced in great detail a prayer he claims was recited by Thomas Jefferson "each day of his eight years of the presidency and every day thereafter until his death." The Thomas Jefferson Foundation notes that the prayer was actually in direct opposition to much of what Jefferson believed, that he doubted the efficacy of prayer, and it was written decades after his death. A recent article in Salon discusses the issue and posits that “what matters is that by using a fake ‘Jefferson prayer,’ he was nodding to and advancing one of the primary tactics of Christian nationalists: rewriting history to favor right-wing lies over truth.” You can read the full article here.
11. Fostering Mutual Understanding in Times of Polarization
Our friends at Science for the Church recently published an essay entitled “Fostering Mutual Understanding in Times of Polarization.” The piece notes that “Today, the importance of finding common ground has become increasingly apparent. Integrating Christian faith and psychology provides a valuable framework for cultivating a society emphasizing empathy, acceptance, and compassion. This approach can help bridge divides and foster mutual understanding.” It explores four areas, the synergy of faith and psychology, love as a transformative force, polarization and social fragmentation, and the role of faith leaders and mental health professionals, in its attempt to find ways “to build a more compassionate, accepting, and unified world, even in the face of political and social challenges.” You can read the full essay here.
12. Religion and the Deadly Rise of Anti-Science
Dr. Larry Collins, retired professor of geology and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, recently published an article entitled “Religion and the Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: Climate Warming is a Serious Problem.” He makes the case for the importance of addressing climate change and, somewhat provocatively, argues that “religious leadership and Christians are as much responsible for not doing anything to solve this climate-warming problem” as are business leaders, politicians and the media who are profiting from continuing with the status quo. While his essay is worth reading, I’d argue that there are many religious leaders who have taken a very active role in combatting climate change, including many members of The Clergy Letter Project. If you’ve not yet signed our Climate Crisis Letter, drop me a note to have your signature added, and you can show Larry that you take climate change seriously. You can read his essay here.
13. Concerned or Complicit?
The Rev. Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a frequent contributor to this newsletter, has shared a short essay he wrote for his local newspaper making the case that if you’re not concerned about where the incoming Trump administration is taking us, you’re complicit in their activities. He concludes his powerful piece by quoting Walter Lippman as saying, “[Some] leaders have no real authority in morals, because they themselves have few standards. ...They exercise an almost autocratic power over deportment at the country club. But what they believe about God, salvation, or the destiny of America nobody knows, not even themselves.” Ken notes “That such emptiness of mind and heart will again be ensconced –and empowered--in the White House is reason to be profoundly concerned. If we are not, I suggest that something is seriously wrong.” You can read his essay here.
14. A Billion Years of Tectonic Change
I think it’s fair to say that we all know the basics of plate tectonics, how the Earth’s landmasses have shifted over time. I just came across this brief (57 second) video that depicts what that movement has looked like over the past billion years. It’s fun to watch and you can do just that here.
15. The Scopes Trial Revisited
One hundred years after the Scopes trial is a good time to examine the impact of what happened in a Dayton, TN courtroom. Covalence published a thoughtful article by Thomas Johnston, a masters of divinity student, entitled “God, Democracy and the Trial of the Century: The Scopes Trial revisited.” Johnston notes that “the trial’s overall implications raise important questions today. What role should state government play in dictating education policy? How expansive or restrictive should curriculums treat certain topics? What do religious liberty and freedom play when faith organizations are caught in the battle between science and faith?” The full article can be read here.
16. The Scopes Trial’s Descendants
Susan Barreto, editor of Covalence, builds on the article mentioned in the immediately preceding item, with a piece of her own entitled “The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial’s descendants tell their own very American story.” She discusses how American society is still living with some of the issues raised by the trial and concludes that the “tension between science and morals that many see as being offered by religion alone is something that continues to draw many into a debate rather than dialogue. And perhaps for this reason alone, we should still seek the lessons of the Scopes Trial and the uneasy relationship between science, politics and religion in daily life.” You can read the full piece here.
17. From Creationism to Christian Nationalism
Paul Braterman, a retired professor of chemistry, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, and a frequent contributor to this newsletter, just published an important article on his blog. The piece is entitled “The Battle for the Mind (Tim LaHaye, 1980); from Creationism to Christian Nationalism” and it opens as follows: “Tim LaHaye’s career shows a direct line of descent within creationist thinking, from Reagan-era anti-Communism, through a more diffuse blanket opposition to humanist thinking, to American exceptionalism and the impulses that would later express themselves in 21st-century Christian Nationalism.” There’s a great deal of fascinating and troubling material in the article that I’m certain you’ll want to read. It can be found here!
18. Well-Deserved Recognition for Glenn Branch
Glenn Branch, a good friend of The Clergy Letter Project, the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, and a prolific writer and researcher about all things related to the topic of creation/evolution, has been elected a fellow of the International Society for Science & Religion. Please join me in congratulating Glenn on this impressive honor.
Concluding Thoughts
Jimmy Carter died this month and it’s worth noting that, among his many incredible accomplishments, he was a staunch supporter of the separation of church and state as well as an outspoken opponent of Christian fundamentalism. At one point he noted, “Last year I was on Pat Robertson's show, and we discussed our basic Christian faith - for instance, separation of church and state. It's contrary to my beliefs to try to exalt Christianity as having some sort of preferential status in the United States. That violates the Constitution. I'm not in favor of mandatory prayer in school or of using public funds to finance religious education.” Additionally, in an interview with Terry Gross (listen here) he made it clear that there was no conflict between religion and science and that religion, including intelligent design, should not be taught in science classrooms and laboratories. He will be missed, and it is a shame that there are not more like him.
I fear that we are entering a phase (at least I hope it is a phase) when our voices for reason, right, equity, environment, truth, humanity, science, and meaningful religion will be more important than ever. We need to push back against forces that will work to undercut all of these values – and we need to do so without compromising our own principles and our own humanity. That’s no easy task. I hope and suspect that we’re up to the task. I’m proud to be part of a group that cares about values of this sort. Thank you and best wishes for a healthy, happy and productive new year!
Finally, as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org