Why Do So Many Have Trouble With Evolution? A good article here by Dartmouth Physics Professor Marcelo Gleiser which has drawn a lot of comments as you can see from the NPR website I link to below: From what I have read, this unfortunate break some believers have with scientific community is a false dichotomy. I do not believe science is the enemy of spiritualism, nor is faith a stumbling block to natural science exploration, as some of the greatest figures, male and female, in the history of Western Culture have been theologians and others were were believers in God (like Isaac Newton) or who at least acknowledged the role of spiritual power asa positive force in human life (Albert Einstein) without endorsing a traditional view of the Deity. Ironically the debate in America I believe was originally carried out with good if not correct intentions. Figures like William Jennings Bryan spoke out against evolution being taught in public schools, as in the famous "Monkey Trail" in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925, not primarily because he was keen to promote a religious Ludditism. Rather, Brryan was afraid that the pernicious forces of "Social Darwinism" would take away the doctrine of "natural rights" on which the American Declaration of Independence was proclaimed by that Deist and Christian-doubter himself, Thomas Jefferson. Bryan believed foremost in the Social Gospel of populism and the economic creed of hope for the poor and charity and "agape" (love for others without care of reciprocation) found in bedrock Christian teachings.*********************************************************************************** From a PBS article on Bryan: "American fundamentalism and the social gospel are two distinct religious movements. Both began in the early part of the 20th century. Both sprang from Christianity's attempt to deal with modern problems. Yet they had radically different goals. As politician and religious leader, William Jennings Bryan played a prominent role in both movements. "The social gospel grew out of the abuses of industrialism. By the turn of the twentieth century American cities had become magnets for cheap labor. Poverty bred a new kind of hopelessness. Wealthy captains of industry, like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, were seen as indifferent to the sufferings of the poor. Some of the rich were philanthropists, but others justified their cruelty with a philosophy called Social Darwinism. If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, they argued, why should the strong help the weak to survive? "The social gospel arose to combat this bleak landscape." See link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/peopleevents/e_gospel.html ************************************************************************** Today, the mainstream scientific community no longer promotes the ideals of incorporating politics into science for hierarchical purposes, as in eugenics. I know of no debate on this matter in the Presbyterian Church (which I belong to) or the mainstream Protestant or Roman Catholic churches. But it is clear that other Christian churches enhance this rift between spiritual communities and those who are exploring how the universe came to pass and how it operates. http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/01/18/145338804/why-do-so-many-have-trouble-with-evolution?ps=cprs