May 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 May 2023: ETC Phone Earth;
- Astronomer Grace Wolf-Chase & Astrotheology;
- DoSER Profiles The Clergy Letter Project;
- Rabbi Daniel Bogard and the Fight for Transgender Rights;
- State Rep. James Talarico and the Fight Against Christian Nationalism;
- Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Review;
- Wonder and Awe: An Earth Day Reflection;
- Is There Something Fishy About Radiocarbon Dating?;
- Experiences of Awe and Wonder at Work;
- The Dangerous History of Eugenics;
- Mark Meadows is a Creationist;
- Blessing the Scientists That Bless the Church;
- A Creationist Threat in Maine;
- Evolution Censored from Textbooks in India;
- Support for Evolution Dips in Canada; and
- Reports of the National Center for Science Education Online.
1. Help Select a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024
It’s time to begin the process of selecting a theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024. Please think what theme might advance our goal of enhancing the dialogue about the compatibility of religion and science – what theme might best engage your congregants while encouraging non-congregants to think about religion and science.
Send me a note (mz@theclergyletterproject.org) with your suggestions and we’ll vote on them over the coming months. Thanks in advance for your thoughtful participation.
2. Astrobiology News for May 2023: ETC Phone Earth
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 civilizations and how you can participate in this exciting endeavor.
You’re probably wondering what the “C” stands for after “ET” in the title of this month’s column. Chances are you’ve seen the acronym “ETL” (Extraterrestrial Life) or “ETI” (Extraterrestrial Intelligence) before. I’m using the acronym “ETC” to stand for “Extraterrestrial Civilization.” While astrobiology is looking for signs of any kind of biological life, SETI(1) has, for many decades, been looking specifically for intelligent life. However, as the famous SETI astronomer Jill Tarter has often said, it’s not clear how one would go about remotely detecting intelligence. After all, there any many other species of animal life on Earth that are considered to be intelligent; however, barring a scenario like the one envisioned in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,(2) where whales, not humans, were the species of interest to an advanced ETC, we might be able to detect signals from a civilization with advanced technology.(3)
The UCLA SETI team,(4) in partnership with the Planetary Society,(5) is looking for help searching for “technosignatures” – scientific evidence of past or present extraterrestrial technology – in data from the world’s largest fully steerable telescope on Earth, the 100-meter radio telescope in Green Bank, WV.(6) Like all Zooniverse projects, you don’t need any special background to become a collaborator with the scientists! Unlike SETI@home,(7) participation in Are we alone in the universe? is active – not something you run passively in the background on your computer. This project has two central objectives: to identify the most promising technosignatures in SETI data, and to help build AI tools to better recognize radio frequency interference (RFI) that originates from human activity on Earth.
In searching for artificial signals from an ETC, it is critical to rule out signals produced by our TC (terrestrial civilization). Roughly 99.8% of the approximately 5 million narrowband signal detections per hour of telescope time are automatically classified as RFI. The remaining 10,000 detections per hour are promising candidates for technosignatures. The Are we alone in the universe?(8) citizen-science platform is designed to identify the most promising signals among the candidate technosignatures. In contributing to this project, volunteer participants will also be helping the project team improve their AI tools to better distinguish “false positives;” that is, to improve the accuracy and speed of their data-processing pipeline in identifying the most promising artificial extraterrestrial signals.
This ETC search is sensitive to signals emitted from thousands of light years away. To date, it has sampled 42,000 stars and detected over 64 million candidate signals, with more observations in the works. The sheer magnitude of data requires many human eyes to examine the “spectrograms” that record times and frequencies of the signals. As with all Zooniverse projects, once you create a username and password for yourself, you can spend as much or as little time as you like on the project – there is absolutely no commitment. The website provides ample background on the science and a field guide to help you understand and identify different kinds of signals.
Of course, there is no guarantee that we’ll ever detect an ETC; however, imagine how exciting it would be to have contributed to what could easily be described as the most incredible discovery in human history!
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://www.seti.org/
2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/
3. There are many scientists, myself included, who feel the task of real communication with extraterrestrials, if we ever discover them, will be far more difficult than often assumed. However, there are good reasons to think we could at least recognize signals of an artificial nature.
4. https://seti.ucla.edu/wp/
5. https://www.planetary.org/ The Planetary Society is a nonprofit public organization for all space enthusiasts (as opposed to the Planetary Science Institute, which is a nonprofit professional organization of space science researchers and educators.)
6. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ucla-seti-group/are-we-alone-in-the-universe/
7. https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/
8. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/ucla-seti-group/are-we-alone-in-the-universe/about/research
3. Astronomer Grace Wolf-Chase & Astrotheology
On his Public Theology blog, the Rev. Ted Peters, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, interviewed Grace Wolf-Chase about her work in the field of astrotheology. It’s an interview you won’t want to miss!
4. DoSER Profiles The Clergy Letter Project
DoSER, the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has a wonderful series entitled “Profiles in Science Engagement with Faith Communities.” As part of this series, they’ve just posted an interview with me which focuses on the goals and successes of The Clergy Letter Project. I hope you find the interview informative and believe that I explained your commitment to our shared values accurately.
5. Rabbi Daniel Bogard and the Fight for Transgender Rights
Rabbi Daniel Bogard, the leader of St. Louis Central Reform Congregation, has a transgender child and has become an outspoken and amazingly articulate proponent of transgender rights in a state that is effectively waging war against transgender individuals. I’m seen clips of Rabbi Bogard speaking at the Missouri capital and I’ve been impressed.
A moving profile of Rabbi Bogard was recently published in Kveller and it is well worth your time. I’ll share two brief comments from the article to give you a flavor of the piece.
Now, like Jews have done, unfortunately, for time immemorial, he has to think about possible exit plans. He’s torn between planning the logistics of taking his kids to soccer practice and figuring out how fast and where he can pick up his family and go to in case his state goes after him for allowing his child to be who he is — a decision affirmed by experts and health professionals around the world and one that most Americans also support.
There’s a beauty, he tells me now, in knowing that “for as long as there have been Jews, there have always been trans Jews. Because being trans is just another way of being human. And there will always be trans Jews as long as there are Jews.”
Please take a look at this article!
6. State Rep. James Talarico and the Fight Against Christian Nationalism
State Representative James Talarico is the youngest member of the Texas legislature – and he has become an articulate voice fighting Christian Nationalism. In this clip Representative Talarico is questioning the person who introduced a bill requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed prominently in all public classrooms throughout the State of Texas. His questioning is as incisive as it is polite. Take a look and be impressed. And while you’re there, scroll down to see more of Representative Talarico’s impressive acumen.
7. Christianity and Critical Race Theory: A Review
The Rev. Bob Cornwall, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, recently published a review of a book entitled Christianity and Critical Race Theory in Word&Way. He concludes his review by noting, “this book should serve as the foundation for a much-needed conversation that must take place if we wish to understand and address the ordinariness of racism that is present in our world so we might participate with God in bringing to fruition God’s purposes for our world.” I thought many of you would find his review well worth reading!
8. Wonder and Awe: An Earth Day Reflection
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. Is There Something Fishy About Radiocarbon Dating?
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. Experiences of Awe and Wonder at Work
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. The Dangerous History of Eugenics
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. Mark Meadows is a Creationist
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. Blessing the Scientists That Bless the Church
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. A Creationist Threat in Maine
A bill was recently introduced into the Maine legislature that would require public school teachers to "provide students with materials supporting both sides of a controversial issue being addressed.” The wording in the bill would likely mean that both evolution and climate change would have to be presented in this manner if the bill were to become law.
15. Evolution Censored from Textbooks in India
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. Support for Evolution Dips in Canada
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. Reports of the National Center for Science Education Online
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
Since our last newsletter, the World Health Organization has declared an end to the Covid-19 global health emergency. While this is very good news, Covid-19 still presents a significant threat to vulnerable populations. I trust that all of you will take appropriate care. And since our last newsletter, we have seen record temperatures occurring in a wide array of global locations. I trust that all of you will continue to take action to reduce your carbon footprint while continuing to speak out to encourage our elected officials and business leaders to take serious steps to alter the trajectory we find ourselves on. Together, building on scientific knowledge and our faith traditions, we can create a healthier, more equitable and more verdant world.
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