(I am one of the signators of this letter)
Article by Michael Zimmerman
“From Baptists to Buddhists, Roman Catholics to Rabbis, and from mainline Protestants to Unitarian Universalists the number of clergy stepping up to make it clear that religion and all facets of science need not be in conflict is exploding. Indeed, more than 16,000 clergy members have now joined The Clergy Letter Project, a grass roots organization designed to demonstrate this point.These 16,000 clergy members from a wide array of religious traditions argue forcefully that evolution must be taught in our public school science classrooms and laboratories while all forms of creationism must be banned from such settings.
These 16,000 clergy members representing every state in the Union understand that both their religious convictions and evolution teach them that racism, White Supremacy, homophobia and Islamophobia are wrong and must be combated.
These 16,000 clergy members representing some of the largest cathedrals in our country and some of our smallest parishes are adamant in their belief, a belief based equally in their faith and in science, that the natural world needs to be protected and preserved.
These 16,000 clergy members representing many of the ethnicities of the world recognize that religious teaching and evolutionary theory, each in their own way, show us the dangers of xenophobia and have articulated a need to better appreciate people of all cultures.
These 16,000 clergy members representing individuals who have just been ordained as well as those who were ordained more than a half century ago are well aware that religion and science both demonstrate the dangers of separating children from their parents and have taken a clear, public stanceopposing the United States government’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents.
These 16,000 clergy members from across the political spectrum and representing both red and blue states celebrate the fact that practitioners of both religion and science are engaged in a search for truth and collectively resist all attempts to normalize the ridiculous concept of “alternative facts.”
These 16,000 clergy members began as a modest group of religious leaders who came together to protest the action of the school board in a small Wisconsin town when it mandated that creationism be taught in science classrooms alongside evolution. The ranks of that small group have now swelled to 16,000 because each clergy member who signed on recognized two critically important facts.
First, evolution is a central facet of biology or, as the great population geneticist Theodosious Dobzhansky, himself a genuinely religious man, said so well in 1973, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Promoting creationism in any form not only undercuts the very core of biology but it undermines the process of scientific investigation itself.
Second, attacking evolution by promoting creationism privileges one narrow religious perspective, a perspective that is at odds with the tenets of most religions. Public schools cannot be in the business of advancing the religious beliefs of some individuals when doing so is in conflict with the beliefs of others.
These 16,000 clergy members are raising their collective voices to demonstrate that neither science in general nor evolution in particular is in conflict with their deeply held religious beliefs.
These 16,000 clergy members are joining with scientists to proclaim the fact that many of the teachings of religion and science lead to the same conclusions and, if followed, can lead to a more equitable, just and green world.
These 16,000 clergy members are making a difference in the communities in which they live and work. Beyond those boundaries their actions are improving the lives of others while protecting ecosystems around the globe.
These 16,000 clergy members would delight in seeing their numbers continue to grow. Bring their efforts to the attention of clergy who want to join this movement and watch their impact increase dramatically.”
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