The American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) is a Christian religious organization of scientists and people in science-related disciplines. The stated purpose is "to investigate any area relating Christian faith and science." The organization publishes a journal, '' Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith'' which covers topics related to Christian faith and science from a Christian viewpoint.
Members of the organization are from various
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
, such as
evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
, and represent several
Christian traditions
Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. These ecclesiastical traditions have more or less authority based on the nature of the practices or beliefs and on the group in ques ...
including the Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and the Orthodox.
The organization frequently runs
seminars
A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...
Faraday Institute for Science and Religion
The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is an interdisciplinary academic research institute based in Cambridge, England. It is named after the 19th-century English scientist Michael Faraday, the pioneer of electromagnetic induction.
It w ...
in Cambridge, England, and
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S ...
.
History
Scientists who were Christians and had concerns about the quality of Christian evangelism on the subject of
religion and science
The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...
formed the ASA in 1941. Irwin A. Moon originated the idea of a group; he talked
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...
president William H. Houghton into inviting a number of scientists with similar Christian views to Chicago to discuss its formation. F. Alton Everest, Peter W. Stoner, Russell D. Sturgis, John P. VanHaitsma, and Irving A. Cowperthwaite attended, and the ASA formed from this meeting.
Everest, a conservative Baptist
electrical engineer
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the ...
at
Oregon State College
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
in Corvallis, served as president of the Affiliation for its first decade. Under his
leadership
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
the ASA grew from 5 to 220 members. By 1961 its membership had grown to 860.
During the 1940s and 1950s the group provided an evangelical forum for discussing the alleged merits and drawbacks of the theory of
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, and for evaluating the works of prominent
creationists
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...
such as
George McCready Price
George McCready Price (26 August 1870 – 24 January 1963) was a Canadian creationist. He produced several anti-evolution and creationist works, particularly on the subject of flood geology. His views did not become common among creationists ...
(1870–1963) and
Harry Rimmer
Harry Rimmer (1890–1952) was an American evangelist and creationist. He is most prominent as a defender of creationism in the United States, a fundamentalist leader and writer of anti-evolution publications.
He was the founder and President of t ...
(1890–1952). The influence of an inner circle affiliated with Wheaton College led it to reject "strict" creationism in favor first of
progressive creationism
Progressive creationism (see for comparison intelligent design) is the religious belief that God created new forms of life gradually over a period of hundreds of millions of years. As a form of old Earth creationism, it accepts mainstream geologi ...
and then of
theistic evolution
Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...
, encouraging acceptance of evolution among evangelicals.Numbers(2006) pp180-181 This group was led by
Russell L. Mixter
Russell L. Mixter (August 7, 1906 – January 16, 2007) was an American scientist, noted for leading the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) away from anti-evolutionism, and for his advocacy of progressive creationism.
Academic career
Mixt ...
(later editor of the ''Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation'' from 1965 to 1968) and J. Frank Cassel. In the words of
Ronald L. Numbers
Ronald Leslie Numbers (born 1942) is an American historian of science. He was awarded the 2008 George Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society for "a lifetime of exceptional scholarly achievement by a distinguished scholar".
Biography
N ...
, the sub-group "did for biology what
Kulp
KULP (1390 AM, 106.7 FM) is a radio station, paired with an AM revitalization FM relay translator, licensed to El Campo, Texas. The station airs a country music format and is owned by Wharton County Radio, Inc.
Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...
, August 01, 2005
* Randall D. Isaac (2005–2016)
* Leslie Wickman (2016–)
Jennifer Wiseman
Jennifer J. Wiseman is Senior Project Scientist on the Hubble Space Telescope, and an American astronomer, born in Mountain Home, Arkansas. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Harvard University in 1 ...
Christians in Science
Christians in Science (CiS) is a British organisation of scientists, philosophers, theologians, ministers, teachers, and science students, predominantly evangelical Christians, concerned with the dialogue between Christianity and science. The organ ...
(CiS)
;Affiliations
Christian Women in Science (CWiS)
* Affiliation of Christian Geologists
* Affiliation of Christian Biologists
* Christian Engineers and Scientists in Technology