Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist

by Joan Roughgarden

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Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Religion, Theology, Evolution, Philosophy

168 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2003

About the author

American ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Hawaii and Stanford University. She is well known for her theoretical and field work in community ecology and her critical studies on Charles Darwin's theory of sexual selection.

She is the author of 8 non-fiction books, over 180 scientific articles & the upcoming SciFi novel Ram-2050 a futuristic retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana.

She received a Bachelor of Science in biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from University of Rochester in 1968 and later a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University in 1971.

Awards and honors:
-Stonewall Book Award, 2005
-Dinkelspiel Award for Undergraduate Teaching, Stanford University, in 1995
-Visiting Research Fellow at the Merton College, University of Oxford, in 1994
-Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1993
-Fellow of Guggenheim Foundation in 1985
-University Fellow, Stanford University in 1978

Reviews

[Paul P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concise book (only 145 pages) rejects Intelligent Design as bad science and argues that evolutionary science does not rule out the possibility of a creator, even if some scientists do—by belief, but not by science. I found Dr Roughgarden’s emphasis on cooperation rather than competition as critical to the survival of a species persuasive. Moreover, she asserts that homosexual activity, which is widespread and common within the animal kingdom, is a form of social bonding, like grooming and food sharing, that promotes cohesion and survival. I also marveled at her assertion that the word eunuch, in the Bible, covers the full range of sexual and gender variant people, and that eunuchs were held in respect and welcomed as members of the religious community.

In criticism, I think she understates the tension between science and (some) religious faith and is overly optimistic that it can be overcome. Indeed, I think that fundamentalism has come to demand a rejection of reasoning and logic amongst its adherents, and its influence has had a tremendously debilitating effect on the role and esteem of science in learning and public policy within the US. I enjoyed learning from her and am sympathetic to her goal of bridging the chasm between science and faith. However, I do not think she’s been successful; the US is more polarized than when she wrote the book in 2006 and the Republican Party, under President Trump, now explicitly and routinely attacks scientific findings that are contrary to party goals: witness the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords, and the weakening of numerous environmental protections. And most disgustingly, Trump has advised people to poison themselves with disinfectants and hydrochloroquine.

[John Vanderslice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific little primer on evolutionary biology and the current, tiresome--and almost entirely unnecessary--state of war between religious authorities and the scientific community. Having been raised by two parents who were both scientists and Christians, and in a church that took neither a pro nor con stand on the question of evolution, I have always been nonplussed by the insistence from certain religious people and communities that evolution MUST be discredited or one must give up a belief in God altogether. Excuse me, what? Roughgarden shows just how stupid an argument that is, one that misreads not only what evolutionary theory actually says but what the Bible itself says. Indeed, while not asserting that the Bible is intended to be any kind of strict textbook on biology, Roougharden points to passages in the Bible that would seem to support what she sees as the two fundamental tenets of evolutionary biology: 1. that all life on earth is connected, and 2. that species change over time. A distinguished evolutionary biologist herself (as well as a practicing Christian) , Roughgarden does not shy away from discussing the 10% (as she estimates) of the evolutionary process that remains, to this day, a bit of a mystery to scientists. She also takes on what she sees as the one clearly incorrect notion espoused by Darwin: that is, his theory of sexual selection, in which the more energetic males are always in competition for the always more retiring, acquiescent females. As Roughgarden puts it, nature herself proves that this cannot be considered an axiom. As is also true of the notion that homosexuality is a distinctly human aberration. According to Roughgarden, it is a common behavior in various species. She also covers that once-raging debate over "intelligent design" showing that it is wrong-headed both theologically and biologically. Eminently readable, and not long at all, this book is a fantastic first glimpse at the debates surrounding evolution. My one regret is that the book, published in 2006, has not been put through an updated edition. I'm sure a lot has happened in the world of evolutionary biology since 2006.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quiet and thoughtfully reasoned book. I don't know enough science to critique her critics (of which there are many), but I think she throws up a good critique of intelligent design and Dawkin's style atheism, showing how they are interlinked -- ID evolved to counter Dawkins', or so it seems. There is a very interesting chapter near the end defending homosexuality, which I'm sure will be controversial among some Christians. I liked it mainly for the sense that here was a rational, humane, scientist, willing to make public her arguments for why she is a Christian, and doing so not in a convoluted polemic way, but in a down-to-earth, simple way. You might disagree with her, but you respect her faith.

I think it shows there is no such a thing as a monolithic church where everyone believes the same thing. We all have very personal reasons for believing what we do, some reasons are more rational than others, and it is not wrong to pick out the irrational reasons and try to refine or to reject them.

[Mark Geisthardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Roughgarden is an Evolutionary Biologist and a Christian, something which some in the conservative fundamentalist branch of Christianity would consider to be mutually exclusive. In this book she responds to those who would consider her scientific beliefs and her Christian beliefs to be in conflict. She lays out a good basic explanation of evolutionary theory and specifically lifts up those areas where the theory is proven as well as those areas where there are problems. It is a good read, informative, insightful, and well written for a book on a topic like this. Plus it's a fast read. Thank you Joan!

[Hector Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare that you get the opportunity to hear the perspective of a Christian Evolutionary Biologist. If you want most of the theories to be broken down in detail, this is the book for you. Joan goes into detail on the flaws on both the scientific and religious side of the isle, elaborating on theories of Creationism, Intelligent Design, and Darwin’s theory of Evolution, effectively explaining the flaws behind each. Joan gets technical when it comes to Biology, and notes relevant bible verses, further clarifying her belief. Good read, not long, could be finished by the average reader in about 2-3 days. Quicker reader, one day.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare for me to find a pro-religion book compelling, because so many modern-day approaches to religion actively encourage wilful ignorance. It is somewhat less rare for me to find an anti-religion book compelling. Religion helps many, this is true. I am much more likely to favour an anti-religion book that bashes the "wilful ignorance" aspects of religion, and the hypocrisy of religious organisations and religious leaders who have control over so many and exercise that control to constrain, constrict, and compel. They deserve all our derision. They are weird.

I grew up in a strict, wilfully ignorant fundie home. When I was maybe 12 and my mother was still alive she turned to me during a service and said that "[The head pastor] said that God put the dinosaurs in the ground to test our faith." Twelve-year-old me immediately thought this was an incredibly stupid thing to believe, and I saw the stupidity as a component mostly of the religion and somewhat less of my mother. But not zero. My mother and the other adults chose to close their eyes to the world as it is, as God made it, and twist themselves into stupid knots justifying something that doesn't need their puny justifications that harm their witness to those unwilling to stop thinking. But I was also steeped in their religion from a very young age, and understand it and the people pretty darn well. That church has become a hateful thing, for example choosing to leave a multi-church effort to feed the needy because pastors of another participating church expressed support for gay marriage. Full of racist Fox-watching MAGAs, one of whom I call "Dad." Believing silly arguments and silly demagogues and forgetting the most important parts of Jesus's message, the parts about which he spent far more time preaching.

Roughgarden, a Christian and highly accomplished evolutionary biologist, here has written a book that is extremely compelling. I do not mean as a call to join the faith -- that will never happen for me -- but as a call to see the world differently, and to emphasise the parts of faith on which Jesus actually meant Christians to focus. For those who are unwilling to stop thinking, read this book. Perhaps you already have. I suspect that many believing thinkers have already found this book, as solid and affirming as it is. If I was struggling with my faith, this book would be like a draught of clear cool water.

On just about every page she includes insights that show she's thought very deeply about her faith indeed. Her relatively brief argument for how intelligent design makes a mockery of both science and religion is the most cogent argument against it that I've read. It's always been foolish for many reasons -- God-of-the-gaps arguments are always foolish -- but now I can state briefly and succinctly its foolishness in a way that demeans neither science nor religion. And Roughgarden's approach works against any God-of-the-gaps arguments that arise.

I am in the middle of Roughgarden's Evolution's Rainbow and am finding it similarly compelling for scientific reasons. Maybe I and the rest of the world are finally ready to understand what she's been saying for two decades. Individual and species interactions are much more rich and interesting applying her theories, than e.g., Trivers' strutting pompishness.

[Em Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book because I am a Christian who studies biology, but this book was honestly so boring and disappointing. The author spent the majority of the book talking about what she wanted to talk about and summing up the book and almost no time on her actual ideas and argument. Also, none of the ideas seemed exceptionally radical or interesting to me. Maybe that is because I am already familiar with the concepts of evolution, but I also think the language in this book would be too confusing for someone who is not a scientist.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an insightful short primer that reads like a diary, an article, and dialogue. I appreciate Roughgarden's open candor in displaying her thoughts on a new vision for the interaction of Christianity and Evolutionary Biology. I learned a lot from this short primer, but more importantly it taught me new ways of thinking about some of the problems that arise. I also appreciate the last two chapters in which she shows how it may help other areas of discussion and dialogue.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author did a wonderful job of dealing with faith and evolution in the same breath. There wasn't anything astoundingly new in this book for me but I think it would be a good read for anyone who is christian and unsure about what evolution is and what it means in light of their faith. She did a great job explaining what evolution says and doesn't say to the lay person and it is a good reminder to any scientist to talk about this and other hot political issues in a fashion that a non-scientist can understand. Too often we scientists get bogged down in the jargon and don't express what is happening in science in a way that others can understand. I think this makes the non-scientist feel like we are being elitist and more apt to not accept what science has shown. Joan does a good job at avoiding this trap and if more scientists followed her example we might find that congressmen and the people who vote for them are willing to listen to what scientists have to say.

[Nicholas Hudson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Any book by a transgender Christian evolutionary biologist has to be somewhat worth reading. However, this is written in a rather breezy manner with insubstantial arguments, and her attempts to retain a literal reading of the Bible that supports evolutionary biology are rather far-fetched. One wonders why they are even necessary. However, this book is helpful for a glimpse at what has led Roughgarden to her challenge of sexual selection, a challenge that, so far as I can tell, is quite telling. And despite not agreeing with or liking how the book was written, I do feel that given more time and maybe a better sense of her audience, Roughgarden might have an interesting form of Christianity, one that is based on a feeling of connectedness to other beings. Such a book--or a polished autobiography--would be worth reading.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite book on this topic. Dr. Roughgarden tries to foster harmony between evolutionary biology and the Christian faith, an admirable goal. She admits she is strong on the science side and weak on the theology side given her training. As a person who has spent time in both camps - and I want to be charitable in the midst of this critique - I think she was weak on both sides. Perhaps it was because the book was short, thus there was not as much room in which to consider the topic. Or perhaps the issues are more complex than she admits, and her efforts were not equal to the task. I found little that would provide a detailed roadmap forward, although I appreciate the attempt.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very thoughtful, gentle book and succeeds in many areas where I doubted that it could. I met Joan Roughgarden years ago when she was John Roughgarden and fairly new at Stanford, so I was intrigued to see how she had changed over the years. Roughgarden has led a most interesting life, both internally and as a scientist, and brings a deep, thoughtful passion to her Episcopalian faith and to this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: the author is very good at explaining modern evolutionary theory to the lay person and is honest about its flaws (though she sees different flaws than most advocates of ID or Creationism do).

Cons: her theology is often weak and involves a lot of reaching for ideas not present in the Biblical text she is citing.

Overall, it was an interesting and often informative read, but definitely flawed in many of its arguments.

[Matt Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

an extremely simple, direct, short little book, but so fair and incisive and helpful . . there needs to be more in-depth stuff done and read, especially when it comes to theological issues raised by evolution, but for anyone who wants just a quick overview of the current state of the whole faith-and-evolution thing, this is a nice start . .

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

260821 A good, quick read. Enjoyable taken as one individual's account of reconciling evolution and Christianity. Not overly religious or scientific, and the author's writing style puts you at ease and makes you trust her right away.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book so much I wrote a note to the author saying so. What a refreshing approach to the topic. Roughgarden shows that a believe in evolution and an expression of Christian religious faith are not incompatible.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introductory book from a Christian and Evolutionary Biologist. Not much new has been said, just rehashed arguments

[Alisse Metge]

Note: I skipped one chapter entirely (you can guess which one), but I thought the rest offered some really good ideas. I particularly enjoyed the analysis of Intelligent Design.

[Jeremy Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are much better books on the topic. While Roughgarden is a brilliant biologist, the Biblical interpretation in the book often shows a lack of awareness.

[Rodrigo Rahmeier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lack of evidences and it sounds like a more personal perspective!