St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Nov 2022)
Theology and Evolution
Abstract
Ever since their emergence in nineteenth-century natural philosophy, theories of biological evolution have prompted religious believers to revisit traditional theological views of the world, humanity, and even God. This entry will first clarify the various strands of meaning to be discerned in ‘evolution’ and briefly delineate today’s most dominant evolutionary theory, the neo-Darwinian synthesis (section 1). Next, it will summarize the varied responses to Darwinian evolution in each of the main Christian denominations (section 2). Since many Christians have been (and still are) unwilling to accept biological evolution, they have elaborated a couple of alternatives: young earth creationism, old earth creationism, intelligent design, and (very popular but underexplored in the literature) origins agnosticism. After having introduced these alternatives (section 3), the most important theological challenges raised by evolutionary theory will be discussed (section 4). How does evolutionary theory impinge on biblical interpretation (especially with regard to the first chapters of Genesis, but also beyond)? How does evolution affect our view of classical divine attributes like goodness and wisdom, given the enormous amounts of animal suffering it assumes? What implications does evolution have for the traditional view of humankind as uniquely created in the image of God, for the doctrines of the Fall and original sin, for divine providence, and even for the nature of morality and religion? Finally, theologians have not only engaged in apologetical and revisionary approaches with regard to evolution, but also proposed constructive interpretations from the perspective of faith that try to make sense of the evolutionary narrative. This ‘evolutionary theology’ project is briefly discussed and assessed in the last section (section 5).
