• Question: I believe in evolution but i acknowledge the existence of God, is this "allowed"?

    Asked by einsteinsmoustache to Sabina, Paul, Mike, Matthew, Mark on 11 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Matthew Malek

      Matthew Malek answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      Allowed by whom? Although many scientists are atheists, there are also religious scientists. The two are not mutually exclusive. Even the Roman Catholic Church now recognises evolution. Back in 1950, Pope Pius XII wrote about this; effectively the RCC acknowledges the validity of evolution, with God’s hand in the process.

      Of course, I don’t know what religion you are — Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Pagan, etc. So I don’t know if your doctrine “allows” a belief in evolution. But from the science perspective, belief in one (or several) god(s) is not a problem.

    • Photo: Paul Coxon

      Paul Coxon answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      There’s no real contradiction in believing in God and evolution. Most of the world’s major religions have come to accept evolution and think of it as one of God’s greatest achievements – just like quantum theory. Some might say denying evolution is denying the power of God to cause evolution in the first place.

      Several prominent scientists, such as Francis Collins, take the view that evolution compliments faith. Rev John Polkinghorne – a world famous particle physicist who became a Church of England priest said:

      “As a Christian believer I am, of course, a creationist in the proper sense of the term, for I believe that the mind and purpose of a divine Creator lie behind the fruitful history and remarkable order of the universe which science explores. But I am certainly not a creationist in that curious North American sense, which implies interpreting Genesis 1 in a flat-footed literal way and supposing that evolution is wrong.”

    • Photo: Mike Lee

      Mike Lee answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      There is no logical contradiction between the existence of god and the existence of evolution.

    • Photo: Sabina Hatch

      Sabina Hatch answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      Some religions have strict views on the origin of humans, whereas others are more relaxed and accept Darwin’s theory. In the science community people’s religions are kept private and are rarely discussed, so conflicts between science/religion are uncommon. If this was a conflicting issue (believing in evolution and God) in your religion, then it will most likely be more of a problem with your religious authority.

      Personally, I found the more I learned the less I believed…

    • Photo: Mark Jackson

      Mark Jackson answered on 11 Mar 2014:

      I prefer to use the term “accept” evolution rather than “believe.” This might seem nitpicky but the reason is related to precisely the question you’ve asked.

      Evolution, being a scientific theory, is an explanation consistent with the facts. You can accept this explanation or not, but whether it is true has nothing to do with what you accept (I elaborate on this point in answering another question at http://goo.gl/eBhzoZ). When the evidence stops supporting a scientific theory, we stop accepting it.

      In contrast, to use the word “believe” implies that it will be true merely because you wish it to be. This is at the heart of most religions: someone wants to believe that their religion is true (either because it was what they grew up in, or because they find it personally appealing) and therefore it must be true. And paradoxically (to me), often the less evidence for the religion, the stronger they believe it!

      So I will assume that when you say you “believe in evolution but also acknowledge God” you wish to think scientifically, but also be religious. Some people don’t find a contradiction between these, but I don’t understand how such opposite ways of thinking can be reconciled.

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