Theos is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a major grant by the John Templeton Foundation to undertake a new project on science and religion.

'Rescuing Darwin' is a project conducted by Theos and the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, in partnership with a number of independent research organisations. It is taking place to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth (February 2009) and the 150th anniversary of the Origin of Species (November 2009). It comprises three distinct and independent elements.

The first is a report, written jointly by Nick Spencer of Theos and Denis Alexander of the Faraday Institute, which sets out to argue that Darwinian evolution does not necessitate atheism and that Christianity and Darwinian evolution are compatible. The project seeks to 'rescue Darwin' (giving the title to the overall project) by insisting we treat him as a supremely gifted natural scientist and not as theologian or anti-theologian of any stripe.

The second element is an independent qualitative research project conducted by ESRO, an independent qualitative research consultancy which aims to bring academic thought and rigour into the world of applied research. This research seeks to interview leading proponents of creationism and intelligent design in the UK, in order to better understand the underlying discourses and ideas which form the foundations of the theories. Interviews will focus on the relationship between such theories and those of Darwin and neo-Darwinists but the research will stand independently of any particular argument or paradigm and aims at elucidation, rather than seeking evidence which would promote or detract from any individual stance or argument.

The third element is an independent quantitative research project conducted by ComRes, a leading polling and research consultancy serving clients in the UK, Europe and Asia. This seeks to interview a statistically representative cross section of the UK public, in order to assess their understanding and opinion of evolutionary and non-evolutionary views and their perceived relationship (or lack of it) with theistic, atheistic and agnostic opinions.

The second and third elements are independent components within the overall project. They are being conducted by autonomous, professional research organisations that have no official links with Theos or the Faraday Institute. The findings will be reported in supplementary reports, which will be authored by the researchers. Summaries of the findings from these reports will be integrated into the main report.

Watch this space for more details.