Evangelicals, Science, and Policy: Toward a Constructive Engagement

Friday, February 18, 2011: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
147A (Washington Convention Center )
Evangelical Christians constitute approximately 30 percent of the U.S. population, and their influence on public policy is considerable. As a community with major concerns regarding science, ethics, and national priorities, its impact on science policy has been particularly significant, as in the case of stem cell research. Around such controversial issues, communication between science and evangelical Christianity has been hampered by limited appreciation of both the scientific facts and each others' concerns. On the other hand, new models of positive engagement between these communities around global issues such as climate change is encouraging awareness and leading to science policies that benefit both science and society as a whole. As science progresses in other disciplines, evangelicals will continue to play a significant role, but their positions on many of these issues have not yet been fully formed. The opportunity thus exists to anticipate concerns and to develop a positive understanding that will benefit scientific advancement. One example is neuroscience, which has implications for both policy-making and religious understanding. Speakers will discuss their experiences with stem cell and climate change policy and explore how these experiences can inform engagement between the scientific and evangelical communities to benefit policies relating both to neuroscience and to science more generally.
Organizer:
Peyton West, AAAS Science and Policy Programs
Co-Organizer:
Jennifer Wiseman, AAAS Science and Policy Programs
Moderator:
Peyton West, AAAS Science and Policy Programs
Discussant:
Richard Cizik, The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
Speakers:
James Childress, University of Virginia
Evangelical Christians and Stem Cell Research Policy
William Newsome, Stanford University School of Medicine
Neuroscience and Evangelical Christianity: Anticipating and Alleviating Concerns
See more of: Science and Society
See more of: Symposia