June 2023 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following seventeen items:
- Help Select a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024;
- Astrobiology News for June 2023: WOWs, I-WOWs, and the Ongoing Search for Extraterrestrial Life;
- Animals Can Be Truly Amazing;
- Can Science Be Unified? Oneness and Its Discontents;
- Evolution Removed from Textbooks in India;
- Evidence for Pre-Human Burials;
- A Moving Piece on Home-Schooling;
- Another Way of Slicing the Science-Faith Pie;
- Significant Michigan Politician Promotes Flat Earth;
- Humans and Dinosaurs Coexisted According to Member of US Congress;
- Climate Change: Learning from the Past;
- My DNA Results Came In;
- Re-reading the Bible as Earthlings in Ecological Interdependence;
- Answers in Genesis Appoints Extremist to Key Position;
- Good News on the Creationism Front from Texas;
- Covalence Honors the Legacy of Carol Rausch Albright; and
- The Science and Theology of Death.
1. Help Select a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024
As I indicated last month, it’s time to begin the process of selecting a theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024. We already have a number of suggested themes (and thank you to those who submitted them) but I want to provide one more opportunity for additional suggestions to be made. So, if you have a suggestion that’s not listed below, please send it to me. A good theme should advance our goal of enhancing the dialogue about the compatibility of religion and science. At the same time, it should actively engage your congregants while encouraging non-congregants to think about the relationship between religion and science more deeply. I’ll list all suggestions in next month’s newsletter and encourage members to vote for their favorites.
How do science and religion mutually contribute to our understanding of the common good?
Religion and Science: Stronger Together
Finding Common Ground
Religious Anti-Science Crusaders, Then and Today: The Comstock Act of 1873 and ensuring the Religious Purity of the US Mail
Religion and Science: Love and Compassion
What do Religion and Science teach us about human equality?
Faith and Science: Meaning and Facts
2. Astrobiology News for June 2023: WOWs, I-WOWs, and the Ongoing Search for Extraterrestrial Life
In this month’s Astrobiology News 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 search for extraterrestrial life in the oceans of other planets – and includes some truly exciting, if completely speculative, thoughts.
Many clergy reading this column may be aware that the word “water” appears more frequently than “faith,” “hope,” “prayer” or “worship” in the Bible. Indeed, by some accounts, water is mentioned 722 times from Genesis to Revelation.(1) Whatever the exact number, it is clear that water connects critically to our lives, health, and spiritual or religious practices. Water’s unique chemical and physical properties make it essential to life on Earth, and they motivate NASA’s emphasis on “following the water” in the search for extraterrestrial life.
In last month’s column, I mentioned the science-fiction movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,(2) where an Advanced Extraterrestrial Civilization (ETC) was attempting to resume communications with whales on Earth. Coincidentally, Alan Stern, noted planetary scientist and principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to explore Pluto and the Kuiper Belt,(3) recently presented a very thought-provoking, albeit speculative, seminar to the Planetary Science Institute on the possibility of intelligent life – perhaps even civilizations – inhabiting worlds with subsurface oceans.
Stern distinguishes between three types of Water Ocean Worlds(4) (WOWs): solid bodies with External-Water Ocean Worlds (E-WOWs), icy satellites and small planets with Internal-Water Ocean Worlds (I-WOWs), and giant planets with high-pressure interior oceans (possibly Uranus and Neptune). While Earth is presently the only known E-WOW, several satellites of the giant planets in our Solar System (e.g. Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Triton), as well as Pluto, fall into the I-WOW category. I-WOWs are also thought to be likely in exo-planetary systems.
Stern notes that studies conducted by the Cassini orbiter of plumes erupting from the surface of Enceladus “check all the boxes” of Astrobiology’s requirements for life. Evidence gathered from multiple instruments provide evidence for the presence of liquid water, “biogenic elements” (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus), salts, heavy organic molecules, energy sources at the water-rock boundary, and suggests a suitably stable environment for life. Recently, NASA’s JWST mapped a water vapor plume more than 6,000 miles long erupting from Enceladus.(5) The study’s co-author Stefanie Milam of NASA Goddard noted that JWST provides a unique way to directly measure how water evolves and changes over time across the immense plume and goes on to say, “Because of Webb’s wavelength coverage and sensitivity, and what we’ve learned from previous missions, we have an entire new window of opportunity in front of us.”
Now to the more speculative parts of Alan Stern’s presentation! Stern notes that, in many ways, the conditions for life in subsurface oceans on I-WOWs may be less restrictive than for surface life on E-WOWs,(6) suggesting that life may be more common for these types of worlds. He goes on to note that if an intelligent civilization evolved on such a world, our current searches, which are focused on detecting biosignatures of surface life or electromagnetic signals produced by civilizations like our own, would not identify them. Because they would be isolated by thick shells of ice and/or rock, they would be naturally insulated from communicating with other worlds. Furthermore, it seems unlikely that such civilizations would even learn that other worlds exist.
Granted, that last paragraph currently counts as speculation, not science. However, at the beginning of my professional career, exoplanets were speculation, and now the confirmed number of exoplanets is currently well over 5,000,(7) showing a diversity that rivals worlds imagined in science fiction. The discovery of life in subsurface oceans on worlds in our Solar System would certainly suggest that some form of life evolved on similar worlds in other planetary systems. Employing a quote expressed in different ways by various famous people, including J.B.S. Haldane, Sir Arthur Eddington, and Werner Heisenberg, “The Universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”
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://sites.duke.edu/theconnection/2014/06/05/remembering-gods-gift-of-water/ and private communication with Fr. Ed Foley, Catholic Theological Union.
2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/
3. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/people/36/alan-stern/
4. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/ocean-worlds/
5. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2023/webb-maps-surprisingly-large-plume-jetting-from-saturn-s-moon-enceladus
6. I don’t have time or space to detail them here, but life in I-WOWs may be immune to issues like distance from stars, peculiar orbits, and things like stellar flares or giant impacts that threaten surface life.
7. https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/
3. Animals Can Be Truly Amazing
I’ll be both honest and upfront about this item: it’s not all that pertinent to The Clergy Letter Project's mission. But, let me say this as well: if you’ve not seen the following video, you’ll want to! The video shows a flying squirrel staging its own death and it is absolutely hilarious. Watch it, really, you won’t regret it!
4. Can Science Be Unified? Oneness and Its Discontents
Lisa Sideris, professor of environmental studies, with affiliation in religious studies, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, recently published a fascinating piece in Marginalia entitled “Can Science Be Unified? Oneness and Its Discontents.”
The following sentence from her essay will give you the flavor of her argument: “If indeed science, myth, and religion (or at least some religions) share universalizing and totalizing tendencies, then imagine this trio joining forces to advance a worldview whose central message is oneness."
5. Evolution Removed from Textbooks in India
The Indian government has issued guidelines that removes evolution from general science textbooks. Bizarrely, the guidelines also remove information about the periodic table and the Pythagorean Theorem from those same textbooks. You can read the full story here.
6. Evidence for Pre-Human Burials
The Washington Post recently published a fascinating story detailing research indicating that Homo naledi, a contemporary of early humans, was ritualistically burying their dead 100,000 years prior to humans doing so. As The Post reported, “If true, the latest study would overthrow the dogma that burial of the dead is the sole province of our species.” The research has serious implications for both religion and science. I’ve provided the article via a gift link so even if you’re not a subscriber to The Washington Post, you may read it for free.
7. A Moving Piece on Home-Schooling
There’s been a growing link between home-schooling and Christian Nationalism in recent years. In addition to critical thinking generally, this portion of the home-schooling movement has dire consequences for science education. The Washington Post recently ran a moving piece about a family that transitioned their children to public schooling. It’s an impressive piece of journalism and is well worth your time. I’ve provided the article via a gift link so even if you’re not a subscriber to The Washington Post, you may read it for free.
8. Another Way of Slicing the Science-Faith Pie
The Rev. Arley Fadness, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, shared a short piece with me that he recently published in The Lutheran Message. He concludes his moving essay by writing:
Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast or beyond human comprehension that transcends our current understanding of things. That moment is called the healing power of awe.
Most often, we bask in wonder and awe in ordinary experiences like undeserved forgiveness, unexpected kindness, and unconditional love given and received.
I suspect that you’ll enjoy reading the full piece.
9. Significant Michigan Politician Promotes Flat Earth
Creationists often attack carbon dating as being bad science. Indeed, the Institute for Creation Science (ICR) has published an article attacking the dating process because a study provided some “odd” results detailing Vikings in Greenland. Paul Braterman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, has written a comprehensive blog post explaining why the results might seem odd. It turns out that under certain conditions fish can yield what seem like anomalous carbon dates. When the full picture, and all pertinent data, are taken into consideration, the dating makes perfect sense and Paul concludes that “What we have here, contrary to ICR’s claim, is an example of science at its best.” Take a look at his piece. You won’t be disappointed.
10. Humans and Dinosaurs Coexisted According to Member of US Congress
In keeping with our theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2023, I thought many of you would find this article about scientists and awe to be interesting. The author, Megan Cuzzolino, reports on her interviews with 30 scientists in an attempt “to find out whether, and in what ways, awe played a role in their work.” You’ll probably not be surprised to learn that awe plays a significant role in the lives of scientists.
11. Climate Change: Learning from the Past
As part of Sinai and Synapses’s Scientists in Synagogues program, Dr. John Slattery, the Director of the Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law at Duquesne University, delivered a series of talks on eugenics at Congregation Tifereth Israel in Columbus, Ohio. This essay, entitled “Ethics of the Past, Present, and Future: The Dangerous History of Eugenics,” draws on those talks.
12. My DNA Results Came In
Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to Donald Trump and member of Congress from North Carolina, is a creationist. I just came across a column originally written in 2019 that discusses his beliefs, as well as some of his lies and political missteps, along with his ties to Ken Ham’s Answers in Genesis. The column makes for interesting reading and reminds us of the types of people who were in power in the last presidential administration.
13. Re-reading the Bible as Earthlings in Ecological Interdependence
Drew Rick-Miller from Science for the Church recently published a short essay entitled “Blessing the Scientists that Bless the Church.” In the piece he talks about the work many scientists do for congregations and asks that congregations return the favor by offering their blessings. He concludes with a blessing for science professionals that you might want to incorporate into one of your services.
14. Answers in Genesis Appoints Extremist to Key Position
Paul Braterman, retired professor of chemistry and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, has written a piece that describes some of the beliefs of Martyn Iles, the person recently appointed as chief ministry officer of Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham’s young-earth creationist organization. As Paul explains, Iles is vehemently opposed to taking action to lessen climate change, is a staunch believer in male domination arguing that a good woman is “submissive to husbands. including imperfect ones,” and has spoken out against vaccines. Iles and his colleagues are the ones who continue to promote the belief that religion and science are at war with one another.
15. Good News on the Creationism Front from Texas
Our good friends at the National Center for Science Education report that “material on evolution was removed from grade 9 and 10 textbooks by India's National Council of Education Research and Training, as the government pursues a Hindu supremacist agenda.”
16. Covalence Honors the Legacy of Carol Rausch Albright
The National Center for Science Education reported on a Canadian poll that showed support for evolution in Canada this year was slightly lower than last year while support for creationism was slightly elevated. Additionally, 43 percent of respondents indicated that creationism definitely or probably should be part of the science curriculum. As I’ve indicated previously, while creationism continues to be all too common in the United States, it is not solely a US phenomenon.
17. The Science and Theology of Death
The latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education is available for free online. There’s a great deal of interest in this issue including an interview with Adam Laats, a recent recipient of NCSE's Friend of Darwin award. You can access the issue here.
Concluding Thoughts
This month Canadian wildfires were significantly larger and earlier in the year than has ever occurred in recorded history. The smoke from those fires obliterated many east coast US cities, creating the worst air quality in the world – and far above safe levels. At the same time, some were arguing on cable news shows that the fires were normal, that such fetid air could do you no harm, and that wearing masks was simply woke virtue signaling. Facts matter. The truth matters. The fires and their output are dangerous and arise from all of our activities that lead to climate change. At the same time, across the United States, books are being banned relentlessly and laws are being passed equally relentlessly seemingly to outlaw certain types of people and to limit doctors from making life-saving health care decisions. Later this month a school board in Missouri will have a hearing to determine if the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Maus by Art Spiegelman will be banned. Spiegelman, in a recent interview, said that Maus was a story about “dehumanizing people” and “othering.” Those looking to ban it, he said, are engaging in their own acts of othering. “Those others can include Asians, Indigenous Americans, Black people, Muslims — not to mention LGBTQ and beyond.” In a voice filled with sarcasm and pathos, he concluded that Maus is “one more book — just throw it on the bonfire.”
What do these issues have to do with The Clergy Letter Project? The Clergy Letter Project is about searching for truth, about respecting ideas and people, about engaging in meaningful dialogue, and about demonstrating that religion and science share critical ideas that teach us how to care for individuals, communities, and the natural world. Our collective voices, I am convinced, have helped hold back some of the worst tendencies present in our society. Your voice and those of your congregants are important, perhaps more now than ever. Thank you for all you do and all you will continue to do.
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