New workshop trains Catholic scientists to fight myth of faith-science conflict

This year at its annual conference, the Society of Catholic Scientists offered a new workshop designed to prepare Catholic scientists to speak on science and faith topics in the public square.

CHICAGO — Can faith and science be reconciled in the eyes of the world? This question dominated conversations — both formal and casual — at the recent national convention of Catholic scientists.

This year’s annual conference, held June 5–8 at Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago, included a new offering designed to address this issue directly. Attendees at the Society of Catholic Scientists conference could choose to arrive early for Science and Faith Speaker Training, a one-and-a-half-day workshop on June 4 and 5 to prepare Catholic scientists to speak on science and faith topics.

While many scientists throughout history didn’t even dream of a conflict existing between scientific reason and their Catholic faith, many attendees spoke of the persistent modern “myth” that the two are not mutually compatible. The numbers back up their observation of the myth’s prevalence: According to Pew Research, some 59% of Americans believe “that science often is in conflict with religion.”

The Society of Catholic Scientists exists largely to combat this myth, founded as it was in 2016 “to witness to the harmony of science and faith.” With some 1,500 members so far and about 250 new scientists and students joining each year, its mission is growing rapidly.

The Science and Faith Speaker Training workshop began with guidance on presentation techniques from mentors who have extensive experience speaking and writing about these topics, such as Stephen Barr, president of SCS and author of the book “Modern Physics, Ancient Faith,” which argues “that modern scientific discoveries and religious faith are deeply consonant.”

Then attendees shared their own sample presentations in small groups and received feedback from experienced mentors. The workshop was supported by a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust.

The idea for the workshop, the first in the society’s nine years of conferences, originated with Dan Kuebler, biology professor at Franciscan University, vice president of SCS, and author of the book “Darwin and Doctrine,” which offers “a fascinating exploration of the compatibility and mutual flourishing of science and religion.” When he proposed the idea, other members quickly saw its wisdom.

“Iʼm a theologian whoʼs been doing faith and science work for 21 years, and thereʼs nothing that replaces a Catholic scientist who is doing great work in their field and showing that they see the harmony between that work and their Catholic faith,” said Chris Baglow, theology professor and director of the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life.

“The ‘conflict’ misconception is almost universal in our culture, so itʼs part of the mission of the society to represent the relationship between faith and science in the public square,” Baglow said.

As part of that mission, Baglow recently wrote a high-school theology textbook, “Faith, Science, and Reason,” which “unveils the history of science as something that grew out of, rather than in opposition to, the Catholic faith.”

When Kuebler first envisioned the workshop, he saw it as an explicit effort to prepare younger scientists to represent this message effectively.

“One of the things that we recognize is that we need more people out there speaking to high schools, parishes, and so forth about science and the Catholic Church to help dispel some of these myths,” Kuebler said. “We thought, ‘We have all these scientist members here who are interested in that — why donʼt we get some of the best speakers to come and help train them?’”

Sixteen scientists took part in the workshop, which included not only instruction from experienced speakers but also a chance to put those skills into immediate practice. Each attendee prepared his or her own “faith and science talk” and presented it to a small group of mentors, receiving feedback to improve.

“Many of the attendees have letters of invitation to go speak at Catholic seminaries or at Catholic high schools, and now they feel much more confident,” Kuebler said.

Indeed, workshop participants said it equipped them with confidence to speak on these topics.

“The workshop provided a supportive, expert group to receive feedback for developing my faith and science talk,” said Anna Lennon, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology at Indiana University. “We were able to engage in discussion that supported and encouraged us to go beyond our labs and classrooms into our local communities to encounter our Creator together.”

Nathaniel Cunningham, Fairchild distinguished professor of physics at Nebraska Wesleyan University, particularly appreciated the chance to practice his own presentation with mentor feedback.

“This was really useful for me to go from general ideas to a concrete science and faith talk,” he said. He also appreciated getting “helpful guidelines and guardrails for speaking on faith and science” in the training presentations from speakers with expertise in both science and theology.