May 2022 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following twelve items:
- Please Vote to Define The Future of Evolution Weekend;
- Astrobiology News for May 2022: The Cosmic Journey to Life;
- Astrotheology as Public Theology;
- Banned Books for All;
- Exposing the Discovery Institute;
- Learning from the American Evolution Wars;
- Correlates of Accepting Evolution;
- Sacred Space;
- Preaching with the Sciences;
- Theology, Science, and Creation;
- Pro-Slavery, Anti-Women, Anti-Gay, Same Old Hermeneutic; and
- Positions on Abortion.
1. Please Vote to Define The Future of Evolution Weekend
As I noted last month, we need to decide how best to envision the future of Evolution Weekend. Evolution Weekend has been wildly successful since its inception 17 years ago; we’ve reached well over one million people directly with our message about the compatibility of religion and science and many, many more via news reports describing Evolution Weekend events, but it's time to look to the future.
I offer my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have participated in the past and for those of you who responded to my call for ideas in last month’s newsletter. Below, I’ll list the options that have been proposed and I hope you’ll respond by voting for the two options you find most attractive – with 1 being your first choice and 2 your second choice. To vote simply reply to this note indicating your preferences or send me (mz@theclergyletterproject.org) your selection in a separate message.
_____ Continue with Evolution Weekend as we’ve been doing
_____ Rename Evolution Weekend as Religion and Science Weekend (perhaps in conjunction with changing the date as suggested below)
_____ Reschedule Evolution Weekend, perhaps on or near to the Summer Solstice, around Earth Day, or in September as the new school year begins (perhaps in conjunction with the name change suggested above)
_____ Continue Evolution Weekend, with or without a name change, but don’t specify a weekend. Instead let congregations celebrate any time they chose to do so over the course of the year
_____ Use video conferencing technology to create a centralized event each year
_____ Declare victory and not schedule an 18th Evolution Weekend
Thanks in advance for taking the time to vote.
2. Astrobiology News for May 2022: The Cosmic Journey to Life
As Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, notes in this month’s Astrobiology News column, she’s taking a well-deserved break to deal with a back problem. Please join me in thanking Grace for her fabulous work over the years, in wishing her a full and speedy recovery, and in noting that we’re all looking forward to the return of her columns in due course.
Dear Friends - This will be my last Astrobiology column for a few months. There’s a lot going on in my life presently, and I’ll be undergoing back surgery this summer, which has an anticipated protracted recuperation period. Instead of footnoting this month, I’m hyperlinking items of potential interest, because some of the links are very long.
As I write this, AbSciCon 2022: From Stars to Cells is in full swing. AbsSciCon brings the astrobiology community together every two years to share research results, collaborate, and plan for the future. You can listen to archived public events with intriguing titles such as, “We Discovered Alien Life, Now What?”, learn about searching for life in the Universe with your students, and hear about Keynote Speaker Dr. Tracy Drain’s “Jovian Safari.” Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Drain is the Lead Flight Systems Engineer for the Europa Clipper mission, which is slated to launch in 2024. The Europa Clipper will explore an exciting icy moon of Jupiter – an “ocean world” that has long been a candidate for possible extant life beyond Earth. While you’re checking out events on the linked website, you can also pick up a virtual “swag bag” of artistic virtual backgrounds and Astrobiology Graphic Histories!
Among the many exciting events at AbSciCon 2022 was the announcement of a new Research Coordination Network titled LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity. Research Coordination Networks bring together collaborations of researchers from around the world. LIFE is co-led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Arizona State University, and the University of California - Riverside, who will spend the next five years investigating the earliest biological processes and the evolution of life into more complex organisms. The goal of the program is to discern rules governing how organisms and their environments co-evolve, in order to predict how life could evolve on other worlds, and how we might search for it.
LIFE joins four other current Research Coordination Networks – each focusing on a specific scientific question of interest. Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) is focusing on studying exoplanets with the greatest potential for signs of life; Network for Life Detection (NfoLD) is exploring how to detect signs of life; the Prebiotic Chemistry and Early Earth Environments (PCE3) Consortium is breaking down language and ideological barriers and enhancing communication across the disciplinary divides of early Earth geoscientists and prebiotic chemists; and Network for Ocean Worlds is focusing on comparative studies to characterize Earth and other ocean worlds.
Finally, earlier this month, I was honored to share my personal faith & vocational journeys in life as the Keynote Speaker for the Erickson Conference at Seattle Pacific University. I’ve been given permission to share this link to my presentation. I hope some of you will enjoy checking it out!
Until next time,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (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)
3. Astrotheology as Public Theology
The Reverend Ted Peters, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, continues to publish interesting and insightful pieces on his blog. His latest, entitled “Astrotheology as Public Theology,” explores the meaning of astrotheology and its implications. Take a look; you won’t be disappointed.
4. Banned Books for All
School districts and public libraries around the country are banning a record number of books of late. The New York Public Library has taken steps to counter this dangerous trend. As they note on their website, “The New York Public Library stands by the right to read freely. In response to recent efforts to ban certain books in some communities across the United States, the Library is making a selection of commonly banned books available to everyone—for free.” You can learn more and access their free books here.
It's also worth noting that recent reports indicate that some school districts and libraries have begun banning on-line apps designed to provide access to books. Given that, historically, evolution has been a topic that has been banned, The Clergy Letter Project stands for the free and open dissemination of ideas.
5. Exposing the Discovery Institute
Larry Collins, a retired professor of geology and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, brought a Youtube video to my attention that I’d like to share with you. It explores and dismisses many of the claims put forth by the Discovery Institute about a young earth and about intelligent design. The video is well done and is well worth your viewing time.
You might remember Larry as the author of a book entitled A Christian Geologist Explains Why the Earth Cannot be 6,000 Years Old: Let’s Heal the Divide in the Church. If you’re interested, the book can be purchased directly from the publisher.
6. Learning from the American Evolution Wars
Glenn Branch, a great friend of The Clergy Letter Project and the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, just published an essay entitled “Learning from the American Evolution Wars." Glenn does a fabulous job of summarizing the historical and on-going attacks on evolution in the United States and relating them to what is happening around the world. This short piece is well worth reading and sharing.
7. Correlates of Accepting Evolution
Everyone who understands even the least bit about statistics understands that correlation is not the same thing as causation. Nonetheless, statistical correlation can provide significant insight into the meaning of patterns. Along these lines, a report on a recent study examining the beliefs of those who accept evolution is fascinating. The opening paragraph in the report summarizes the study’s main conclusions: “Individuals who accept human evolution tend to exhibit reduced levels of prejudice compared to those who reject the scientific theory, according to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study indicates that disbelief in evolution predicts racism and prejudice around the world and in various cultural contexts.” Fascinating stuff!
8. Sacred Space
Sinai and Synapses, our sister organization, writes, “Sacred Space is a new multi-episode series developed by the Academy for Jewish Religion (AJR) that will bring innovative thinkers at the forefront of meaningful conversations about religion and spirituality in everyday life. Rabbi Geoff Mitelman is a consultant for this project on science and religion at the Academy for Jewish Religion sponsored by the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER).
The first episode of this new series features a discussion with Geoff Mitelman and Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, director of the AAAS DoSER program and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants. You can watch the video here.
9. Preaching with the Sciences
The Reverend Ed Foley, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, is project director for an exciting endeavor funded by the John Templeton Foundation entitled “Preaching with the Sciences.” As part of that project, Ed has begun to post homilies on the project’s website.
That site explains the goal perfectly: “Across the next year, this free online resource will grow to feature more than 100 homily outlines for preaching key Sundays and feast days across the 3-year lectionary cycle. These homily outlines highlight some of the ways sciences and the contemporary search for religious meaning can interface. These homiletic resources will influence thousands of preachers seeking help each week in crafting sermons and helping to shape a scientifically informed religious imagination among future preachers.” I hope you find these resources helpful.
10. Theology, Science, and Creation
Regent College defines itself as follows: “Regent College was founded in 1968 as the first graduate school of theology in North America to make education of the laity its central focus.” In recognition of Earth Day 2022, they published an article entitled “Theology, Science, and Creation.” This short piece is worth your time – and it includes some useful resources.
11. Pro-Slavery, Anti-Women, Anti-Gay, Same Old Hermeneutic
The Reverend John Alexander Wright published a provocative piece in United Methodist Insight discussing the schism that has occurred in the Methodist Church. The piece is entitled "Pro-Slavery, Anti-Women, Anti-Gay, Same Old Hermeneutic” and makes for very interesting reading.
12. Positions on Abortion
As with so many controversial issues, many people, apparently purposefully, misconstrue the “religious position” on abortion – as if there’s a single such position. At times this happens even by well meaning individuals; one example will make this point. Neal deGrasse Tyson, in his forthcoming book Starry Messenger, attempts to help readers find common ground with people on both sides of the abortion issue. Unfortunately, writing about those who are in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade, he writes that their “belief in the Christian God and in the sanctity of all human life (viable or not) strongly motivates these views. So they’re not being bad citizens, they’re being good Christians.” But his perspective is a cartoon characterization of Christians in particular and religious people in general.
American Baptist Churches USA
American Humanist Association
Church of the Brethren
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Episcopal Church
Metropolitan Community Churches
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Reconstructing Judaism and Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Reformed Church in America
United Church of Christ
Unitarian Universalist Association
Union for Reform Judaism
United Methodist Church
Concluding Thoughts
This has been a busy and disconcerting month. The war in Ukraine continues unabated. Covid-19 seems to be resurging. Mass shootings in the United States are increasing in regularity and are all too frequently associated with hatred of the other. Baby formula is in short supply while monkeypox might be on the rise. The United State government has clearly stated that the largest domestic danger is due to White Nationalist hate groups. Politicians who want to control the lives of others are increasingly taking steps to impose their will on women’s reproductive rights and on what books children will be permitted to read. These same politicians may well also have their sights set on contraception and gay marriage. And, of course, we are still demonizing immigrants looking to enter the United States in search of a better life while we are doing precious little to combat climate change. Change is needed and it can only come from a concerted effort of concerned people, people who make their voices heard and demand action while promoting a sense of share morality and a dedication to science and the truth. I’ve seen what so many of you have done and, despite all that’s before us, I have confidence that you will continue to act in ways that will improve the lives of all who share the planet with us. Thank you for your continued efforts; you’re making the world a better place.Finally, as always, I want to thank you for your continued support and 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