Talking about science can be challenging, especially in religious settings. Scientist and ISCAST Fellow, Jacob Martin, shares some ideas about communicating science effectively in the church.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian and then-director of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, held a series of Zoom calls with the late theologian Tim Keller. Collins was in charge of coordinating the vaccine rollout during a time of sickness, fear, and mistrust of science.
While Collins talked about the development of the vaccines and his work coordinating pharmaceutical companies to work together, Keller talked about the ethics of what it all meant for the Church. Two highly respected Christian voices came together, building trust in Christian communities for people who may have been wary of those developing the vaccines.
It was a great example of good science communication in action. And that’s something we should consider more carefully in our churches.
The way we talk about science matters, especially in contexts like churches where there might be a perception of conflict between science and faith as well as a lack of trust in secular institutions. Thankfully, there’s an entire field of study dedicated to studying the most effective ways to communicate about science in different settings, and it’s one that we can all learn from.
Read the full article at The Melbourne Anglican.
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