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Re:I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its pre... by tptacek on Friday December 20, 2013 @01:00AM (#6940169)
There are absurd anti-science sects of Christianity, but mainstream Catholicism isn't one of them. I was taught evolution in both Catholic grade school and Jesuit high school --- in the late 80s and early 90s. It wasn't taught as a controversy or one of many possibilities, but rather as scientific fact.

For what it's worth, if you're not familiar with Christianity, most Christian religions aren't biblical literalists. I was taught in grade school, by nuns, that the Old Testament wasn't to be taken literally.

Re:I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its pre... by russellsprouts on Friday December 20, 2013 @04:29AM (#6940654)
Yes. Pope Pius XII acknowledged evolution as compatible with Christianity in 1950, though he did not embrace it. In 1996 Pope John Paul II went further:

> Today, more than a half-century after the appearance of that encyclical, some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies—which was neither planned nor sought—constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.

Re:I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its pre... by chalst on Friday December 20, 2013 @07:58AM (#6941165)
The Jesuits are outstandingly good, for a religious denomination, in their respect for scientific truth. Other parts of the Catholic church (I'm thinking of Franciscan institutes like the Christian Information Centre) lean creationist.
Re:I wrote the Anarchist Cookbook in 1969. Now I see its pre... by tptacek on Friday December 20, 2013 @08:57AM (#6941349)
The Jesuits are pretty great. But my Catholic elementary school wasn't Jesuit, and it taught evolution and a non-literal interpretation of the Old Testament.