Evolution Sunday

Butler University, sponsor of the Clergy Letter Project had this infomation regarding the upcoming Evolution Sunday:

On 11 February 2007 hundreds of congregations from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

Even though I personally feel that science and religion are inherently incompatible since one is based on a fantasy and the other is based on reality, I think this is a good program. It helps churches inform their congregations on the real nature of science and its purpose and encourages productive discussions instead of spreading "unquestionable," blatant lies and misrepresentations. Unfortunately, Evolution Sunday will certainly not find its way into the chruches that need it the most. However, teaching proper science through churches is a good way to reach and change the minds of millions of Americans so they can put pressure on the more fundamentalist sect of their religion.

Correction: Butler University does not actually sponsor the Clergy Letter Project, it just allows the projects website to be hosted on their server. Thanks to William for pointing this out to me.