Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:27 — 1.2MB)

At the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held this year on February 16th, Sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund reported that 17% of scientists polled in a recent survey describe themselves as evangelical Christians.

Christianity Today reports that Ecklund (and other colleagues at Rice University) polled over 10,000 people, 574 of which identified themselves as scientists. This project (like her 2010 book Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Believe) was spurred by the pervasive assumption of many evangelicals that science is the enemy of religion, Ecklund explains.

Another interesting facet the survey unearthed is that, according to the sampled demographic, evangelical scientists are more likely to attend church, read religious texts, and consider themselves “very religious” than their non-scientist evangelical counterparts. These findings give hope for many who wish to see more productive dialogued fostered between scientists and evangelicals, and even amongst evangelicals who are scientists and those who are not.

Source: Christian News Blog; Christianity Today

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 8:1-9

PRAISE: God for the evangelical scientific community. Pray that they may be able to share the “handiwork of God” with their peers and be a blessing to the Church.