Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

  Evolving 2023 Geoffrey W. Sutton & Bing AI Evolution, Psychology, and Christianity Irreconcilable Differences Barriers and Bridges The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was published 24 November 1859. Scientists have built on the solid foundation laid by Charles Darwin 165 years ago. New discoveries have refined the theory and expanded our understanding of the evolution of life. For example, we know a lot more about genetics than scientists did in the 1800s. As is commonly known, Christian leaders have denounced evolution and fought the teaching of evolution in American public schools for more than a century. Clearly, the evolutionary explanation of the origins of life, including human beings, is not compatible with traditional Christian teaching about the creation. Evolution explains the diversity of life through such processes as natural selection, mutation, and genetic drift. All species evolve and those that survive to reproduce pass along their gen...

Evolutionary Psychology of Religion On July 21, 1925 , the Scopes trial ended.  The Jury found John Scopes violated the law by teaching evolution. Rhea County Courthouse, TN Photo by Geoff W Sutton 2015  This is part two of two posts about contributions of evolutionary science to psychology. I am drawing on Lee Kirkpatrick’s 2013 summary of the issues to consider how evolutionary psychology may contribute to an understanding of religion. I have decided that the best way to consider how evolutionary psychology might be related to religion is to pose a few questions followed by possible answers. But first, a brief explanation of psychological mechanisms as behavioral routines. Psychological mechanisms as apps I am using the term app to represent a psychological application. Psychological scientists refer to psychological mechanisms, routines, and systems. Some use the analogy of computer software as having similar properties as a behavior pa...

The Scope of Evolution Includes the Psychology of Religion In 2015, I visited the historic Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee—the site of the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial. That year marked the 90th anniversary of the proceedings, which began on July 10 and concluded on July 21, 1925. At the heart of the trial was science teacher John Scopes, charged with violating Tennessee law by teaching evolution in a public school. Now, in 2025, I revisit the story in its centennial year, reflecting on how far we've come—and how the debate endures. The arguments presented during the 1925 Scopes Trial may seem like quaint historical disputes—until one considers that a significant minority of Christians in the United States continue to reject scientific explanations for the origins of life in favor of a literal or near-literal interpretation of creation. In 2014, a Gallup poll revealed that 42% of Americans believed God created humans in their present form approximately 10,000 ye...

Evolutionary Psychology and Christianity This week Pope Francis commented on creation and drew lots of media attention. Pope Francis has a huge audience as the leader of most of the world’s Christians— some 1.2 billion out of about 2.2 billion .  Like many scientists who also hold Christian beliefs, the Pope reaffirmed Catholic teaching that there is no contradiction between religious beliefs and scientific theories about origins of the universe (e.g., so called “Big Bang Theory”) or life (theory of evolution).    RNS reported on the story 27 October 2014 . The fact that the story became news in the United States reminds us of the continued teaching of a competitive creation narrative that is presented as incompatible with scientific explanations of the origins of the universe and of life.  They assert that the biblical story of creation in Genesis should be understood in a literal (or close to literal) fashion. Although creationists vary in how t...