Q: Is evolution an atheistic concept? (Does evolution assume the absence of a divine being acting as creator?)

A: Unfortunately, it is commonly assumed that evolutionary theory operates on the premise of the absence of a Creator. This is not true. Students of evolution do attempt to accumulate data to answer questions such as how old is the earth, when did species of plants and animals appear (and disappear) and are the organisms (including man) genealogically related to one another. Evolution, however, is not inherently atheistic. There is no data generated by chemistry, biology, the earth sciences (geology, paleontology) or other related academic disciplines which validate the conclusion that God does not exist, or that exclude God from the process that generated living creatures. Theological questions are outside of the realm in which science is able to make a direct contribution. Some evolutionary scientists are atheists, but many others in many religious faiths maintain a strong belief in God.

Many people oppose evolution on religious grounds, assuming that an evolutionary scenario must of necessity, exclude deity. Why? Darwin presented the case for evolution and elucidated the notion of natural selection as the mechanism for evolution at a time in the history of western civilization of increasing secularization. This was the age of the scientific revolution, and in a number of areas of human endeavor there was a trend away from religious faith. Perhaps because the subject (at least in part) was man himself, evolutionary biology was perceived by many as the most direct threat in this growing tendency to view the world without the traditional role for God. In the latter part of the 19th century there was an increasing sense that science and religion were at odds with each, irreconcilable enemies destined to fight for the souls of men. We are the recipients of this unfortunate legacy, and for many today evolution is synonymous with a rejection of deity.

The truth is that scientists, evolutionary biologists included, have neither the means nor (generally speaking) a motive to discount, invalidate, or repudiate religious faith. Consider the following statement, the concluding paragraph of an entry in a recent book about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals.

"So, nowadays, although they argue about the details of what controls the rates or pattern of evolution, almost all biologists accept that extinction and evolution have taken place, and that Darwinian natural selection is the major mechanism underlying them. There is nothing in this that necessarily contradicts a belief in God or even in Divine intervention, for the record in the rocks could be interpreted as a testament to the way in which God chose to create the natural world." (4)