Can i be catholic and believe in evolution

Catholic Vol. Image: Flickr cc via HeadOvMetal. About the author. John Switzer John Switzer is associate professor of Theology at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, where he also serves as director of graduate programs in theology and ministry. You may also like. Was the first Thanksgiving Catholic?

Damian Costello. Add comment. Share This! Q: I saw a poll that said 57 percent of evangelical Christians reject the theory of evolution, and it got me wondering: What does the Catholic Church teach about it? Can Catholics believe in evolution? A: This is a question I look forward to answering! As you may know, my undergraduate studies were in the natural sciences and I have a Bachelor of Science in geology. If so many popes have said that the process of evolution is not necessarily incompatible with Christianity, then we might wonder what all the controversy is about.

Before I get to that, I want to stress that the Catholic Church has neither denied nor affirmed the theory of evolution to be a matter of fact. Rather, it has simply said that this theory is not inherently incompatible with Christian faith. That is an important distinction to remember. The main reason for controversy concerns what is meant by the term evolution and to what it can refer. We need to understand the difference between evolution as an autonomous principle and evolution as a divinely guided process.

Catholics need not feel they need to denounce evolution just because some people try to use evolution to denounce Christianity. Those people are mistaken about what Christianity teaches, not only about the origins of the universe, but also about the relationship between faith and reason.

To denounce evolution because it seems to contradict the faith is to give these people more ammunition with which to attack us. So yes, Catholics can believe in evolution. His book offers excellent clarification on this point, and specifically rejects Intelligent Design theory. It always follows from a prior judgment made about the incompatibility of evolution with Christian faith. A judgment that is out of step with the Catholic understanding of the relationship between faith and reason.

Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, In the Beginning. Archdiocese of Regina Broad Street N. Phone: Fax: Skip to main content. Can Catholics Believe in Evolution? Brett Salkeld's response Pope Francis recently re asserted that the scientific theory of evolution is compatible with traditional Christian teaching about God and creation.

Take St. Augustine for example: It is therefore, causally that Scripture has said that earth brought forth the crops and trees, in the sense that it received the power of bringing them forth.

Almost none of this is true. Should Galileo have been locked up for insulting the Pope? Of course not. Archdiocesan Theologian.

Ph: Ext What now?