Tara Smith, over at ScienceBlogs, puts in a word for the Clergy Letter Project—a campaign based around a letter, proclaiming that the majority of Christians "do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook" and "affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge." So far, the letter has been signed by over 10,000 clergy.
The project has recently started a list of scientists (213 to date) who are willing to act as consultants to clergy, or speak to groups about science.
Three points about this endeavor impress me:
- Extreme atheists and extreme fundamentalists have recently been doing all they can to give the impression that belonging to a religious tradition automatically makes one stupid, intolerant and nasty. The Clergy Letter Project puts the lie to this conspiracy.
- The project make no requirement on the scientists who agree to act as consultants. They can be Christians, Atheists, Pastafarians, or a devotees of the Great Green Arkleseizure—the project doesn't care.
- Finally, the scientists are only asked to speak or consult about their area of expertise. This may seem obvious, but it is quite different from lists made up by some creationist groups, who list scientists who have no expertise in evolution as authorities, just because they happen to work in an unrelated, but scientific, area—and agree with the creationists.
