Would you date someone who doesn't believe in evolution?

[Peter_Plato]

Gravity is also a theory. A scientific theory is not something made-up or without fact. Saying ‘it’s just a theory’ is a huge misunderstanding of the concept, and of science. Which the Church endorses- the Big Bang was theorized by a Catholic priest. The Bible isn’t literal.

Actually, gravity is a "fact’ of physical reality. Just drop something. No theory involved. The “theorizing” comes up trying to explain how gravity works, but gravity itself isn’t a theory, it is an undeniable aspect of the natural world.

Similarly, adaptive change in animal species is a “fact,” but all the attendant theoretical accoutrements - such as those regarding origins of speciation and whether natural selection is sufficient to explain the extant variety of morphological characteristics - should be subject to rigorous skepticism.

If the thread question is asked because it is believed that doubting evolution makes suspect the intelligence of the “doubter,” rest assured that need not be the case. People like David Berlinski and Stephen Meyer are brilliant thinkers who have seen through and rightly question the rhetoric and insufficiency of some of the theoretical presumptions of “evolution.”

 

[Nacho45]

Gravity is also a theory. A scientific theory is not something made-up or without fact. Saying ‘it’s just a theory’ is a huge misunderstanding of the concept, and of science. Which the Church endorses- the Big Bang was theorized by a Catholic priest. The Bible isn’t literal.

Actually, it is a law.

 

[Nacho45]

I think that this issue, like many involving couples, is going to vary.

For many couples this could be one of those subjects on which couples agree to disagree. But if you pair two people, where one is a teacher or scientist promoting evolution and the other a proponent of creationism then you probably have a bad match.

Especially if the creationist is also a teacher or scientist.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

That scares me as well. I probably would not date such a person. On the other hand, it might depend on their background. Perhaps they were raised to dismiss evolution out of hand. If they have good reasoning ability than that can probably be overlooked.

 

[SMHW]

I think that this issue, like many involving couples, is going to vary.

For many couples this could be one of those subjects on which couples agree to disagree. But if you pair two people, where one is a teacher or scientist promoting evolution and the other a proponent of creationism then you probably have a bad match.

Especially if the creationist is also a teacher or scientist.

We do manage tol get along with people who hold vastly different views from our own. But some of our views are so personal and fundamental that a rejection of the idea is a rejection of the person. If a couple can respect each other in spite of having differing beliefs about evolution then there ought not to be a problem. But if having different beliefs will cause one or both of them to disrespect the other or to feel disrespected by the other, then the relationship is probably doomed.

 

[Corki]

Especially if the creationist is also a teacher or scientist.

I think that would make the match **more possible **rather than less. Many scientists have very good personal relationships with other scientists who hold very divergent views. But they respect the scientific basis for those views even if they don’t agree with their conclusions.

 

[Kit15]

I certainly would as long as he respects the fact that the Church that says he can believe in young earth creationism is the same one that says I believe in a less literary and more scientifically based theory.

It isn’t that he doesn’t believe in evolution but the potential to think of himself as “more Catholic than the Pope” and believe that I was sinning by being open to a scientific possibility instead of a biblically literal one. THAT is something I’m not sure I could abide if the tendency to think that way was strong enough.

 

[mommamaree]

Gravity is also a theory. A scientific theory is not something made-up or without fact. Saying ‘it’s just a theory’ is a huge misunderstanding of the concept, and of science. Which the Church endorses- the Big Bang was theorized by a Catholic priest. The Bible isn’t literal.

Gravity is not a theory, it is a physical force that operates in the universe whether or not we believe in it. The law of gravity is not a theory either, but a very accurate description of the attraction of things that have mass to other things that have mass.
Evolution is, however, a theory. A group of theories, as a matter of fact. Each of the theories that make up “the theory of evolution” began first as an hypothesis. Hypotheses can be proven wrong, and often are, which necessitates the need to formulate new hypotheses. Some of the theories pertaining to evolution are not supported by the evidence, and some of them are. Some hypotheses have been superceded and reformulated. The law of gravity is arguably the most basic law of the universe, until you get to the subatomic level.
I think it would unwise and quite frankly, a bit arrogant, to dismiss someone based upon their acceptance/rejection of a rapidly changing scientific theory that was only initially proposed about a century ago

 

[fontgoddess]

I think the real issue is respect. I think intelligent people can disagree about evolution and any number of other things and still respect each other.

What I personally would have a problem respecting is if a person simply dismissed evolution out of hand as being “non-biblical” and was unwilling to even look at the science at all. I could still like that person, admire that person as a Christian, and be friends with that person. But I could not respect them intellectually if they were that incurious and unwilling to explore ideas, and I couldn’t contemplate marriage to a person that I didn’t respect in that way. But that is just me, of course.

 

[underacloud]

In considering this question, I reflected on my own dating experiences, including what I consider to be important elements to a successful relationship, and eventually it occured to me…after 10 years of marriage, I could not say with any real certainty that I know what my wife thinks regarding this topic.

I guess, apparently, to me at least, it is of no importance. That’s not to say that it might have been important if she happened to hold strong views, but she doesn’t.

 

[SMHW]

I think the real issue is respect. I think intelligent people can disagree about …] and any number of other things and still respect each other.

What I personally would have a problem respecting is if a person simply dismissed … ] out of hand as being … ]. I could still like that person, admire that person as a Christian, and be friends with that person. But I could not respect them intellectually if they were that … ], and I couldn’t contemplate marriage to a person that I didn’t respect in that way. But that is just me, of course.

I edited the previous post because you could insert all kinds of ideas and topics in there and the point would remain the same. If we can disagree respectfully then fine. But I think most of us (if we are honest) have things about which we simply can’t disagree and maintain respect for the other. Just what those things are is going to be very personal.

I think we owe it to potential mates to be able to respect them and I can’t imagine dating if respect would not be possible .

 

[truetofaith]

There has never been any fossil found which shows a change of one species to the next.

Evolution is also the normal mutation or changes that can take place within a species over time.

I agree with both your statements. Over generations, a giraffe got it’s long neck as the trees got taller & mammals with longer necks lived to reproduce. No change in species, though!

 

[on_the_hill]

The only caveat would be that her belief re: [the banned topic] might indicate some other beliefs that you’d be uncomfortable with, or that might indicate a foundational incompatibility.

Like, “I don’t believe in evolution, but I do believe the Pope is the anti-Christ.”

 

[Stillsosola]

Why does science conclude that the earth is more tha 4 billion years old, and the universe more than 15 billion years old. Just an error?

Do you come across many who share your belief?

Actually yes my husband believes it as does most of my fathers side of the family and most of my husbands family believes it

Just as some see creation as an unlikely out there theory I find evolution and the big bang unlikely sorry human beings, the universe itself is just too incredible to have just happened

 

[Birdpreacher]

God has blessed me with a gf does not subscribe to literal interpretation of genesis. If she did i don’t think i could take her seriously, i would still date her, but probably tease her about it.

 

[Rau]

Actually yes my husband believes it as does most of my fathers side of the family and most of my husbands family believes it

Just as some see creation as an unlikely out there theory I find evolution and the big bang unlikely sorry human beings, the universe itself is just too incredible to have just happened

Fascinating! While I admit that the pope claims no expertise in matters of science, I believe it was JP2 who is on the record accepting the Big Bang theory. I believe he also accepted evolution. Neither theory need contradict the reality of God as creator; and that is not a matter that science can address.

 

[Stillsosola]

Fascinating! While I admit that the pope claims no expertise in matters of science, I believe it was JP2 who is on the record accepting the Big Bang theory. I believe he also accepted evolution. Neither theory need contradict the reality of God as creator; and that is not a matter that science can address.

I suppose my belief in Genesis is just a hard wired belief that was born from my fathers fundemental mom and 3 yrs of a fundemental private school I attended Ive just always accepted it even in my dark years of practicing witchcraft and the occult I still believed in the creation story people can make fun all they want I just figured on a catholic forum more people would be like minded

 

[Rau]

I suppose my belief in Genesis is just a hard wired belief that was born from my fathers fundemental mom and 3 yrs of a fundemental private school I attended Ive just always accepted it even in my dark years of practicing witchcraft and the occult I still believed in the creation story people can make fun all they want** I just figured on a catholic forum more people would be like minded**

But, is it a particularly Catholic position to interpret Genesis literally? - At some point in the past, I’m sure it was - but these days, I would think it is a narrowly held view. At the very least, I guess we can conclude it is not a matter of doctrinal significance, given different Pope’s have held different views.

 

[Miriam1947]

Fascinating! While I admit that the pope claims no expertise in matters of science, I believe it was JP2 who is on the record accepting the Big Bang theory. I believe he also accepted evolution. Neither theory need contradict the reality of God as creator; and that is not a matter that science can address.

amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/essaybooks/cosmic/p_lemaitre.html

Georges Lemaître, Father of the Big Bang (1894-1966), Belgian cosmologist, Catholic priest, and father of the Big Bang theory.

According to the Big Bang theory, the expansion of the observable universe began with the explosion of a single particle at a definite point in time. This startling idea first appeared in scientific form in 1931, in a paper by Georges Lemaître, a Belgian cosmologist and Catholic priest. The theory, accepted by nearly all astronomers today, was a radical departure from scientific orthodoxy in the 1930s. Many astronomers at the time were still uncomfortable with the idea that the universe is expanding. That the entire observable universe of galaxies began with a bang seemed preposterous.

More at the link

 

[truetofaith]

Actually yes my husband believes it as does most of my fathers side of the family and most of my husbands family believes it

Just as some see creation as an unlikely out there theory I find evolution and the big bang unlikely sorry human beings, the universe itself is just too incredible to have just happened

The argument I learned was…if you find a working watch in the middle of a desert, would you conclude that over a period of millions of years, it just happened to get put together by chance?
No, the logical conclusion would be it had to be made by an intelligent person. Same with the clock- like movements of our Solar System & Universe.