The following is an excerpt from The God of Monkey Science by Janet Kellogg Ray. It’s a featured Speakeasy selection, and there are still limited review copies available for qualified reviewers.
In the excitement and hubbub of bringing my first book into the world, there was an unavoidable background noise of all things COVID, and particularly, the response of evangelical Christians during the pandemic:
- White evangelicals consistently lagged behind all other religious demographic groups in getting a COVID vaccine.
- Evangelical churches were demanding to meet in person, at the height of the prevaccine pandemic.
- Evangelicals were vocally antimask.
- Evangelical Christians were the loudest voices in some of the ugliest criticisms against leading scientists and epidemiologists.
Of course, evangelicals were not the only ones resisting vaccines, masks, and social distancing, but evangelicals were by far the largest religious demographic doing so.
Why was the evangelical precinct of Christianity the most resistant to masks, vaccines, and even the particulars of the science of the virus and the pandemic itself? It was a puzzle.
In the spring of 2021, when less than 7 percent of the state’s population was vaccinated, the governor of Texas lifted the mask mandate, setting off a firestorm of opposing opinions. While some Texans hurled their masks into bonfires in celebration, others warned of continuing community spread with vaccination rates still in single digits.
Within this context, I wrote about the lifting of the mask mandate. I wasn’t for endless masking; I was just questioning the timing.
Well, as it happens when you write something for others to read . . . a reader disagreed with my position. I’ll spare you the entire unadorned response, but here’s the abbreviated version:
There she goes again . . .
Janet and her monkey god science.
What?
The comment obviously wasn’t meant as a compliment to my astute analysis of the situation. It was also obvious that it was a reference to the writing I do about evolution acceptance and faith.
The description of my masking position as “monkey god science” was not really offensive—it was more perplexing than it was anything else. After all, I wasn’t talking about the science of evolution. I was talking about medicine, vaccines, and public health policy.
What did COVID precautions have to do with my accepting evolution science?
Thinking in Circles
The more I pondered, the more I thought in circles. Not meandering, unrelated circles, but the overlapping circles of a classic Venn diagram.
In a circle representing evangelicals who deny the science of evolution and a circle representing evangelicals who deny the science of all things COVID, I saw a sizable area of overlap. And dropping down into the mix was a circle of evangelicals who deny human-caused climate change.
In the mix are three very different areas of science— biology, epidemiology, and earth science. Why the overlap of denial?
Praise for The God of Monkey Science
“Christians questioning received anti-science narratives will find this an accessible and thoughtful resource.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Janet Kellogg Ray writes like a journalist, thinks like a scientist, and makes connections to everyday life like a pop-culture expert. I heartily recommend this book!”
—Thomas Jay Oord, author of Open and Relational Theology
“With wit and an accessible style, Ray persuasively argues that Christians have become ‘solution averse’ to the detriment of themselves and their neighbors. She challenges Christians to stop being afraid of science and to live well as people of faith in our modern scientific world.”
—Dave Verhaagen, author of How White Evangelicals Think
“In this accessible and engaging book, Janet Kellogg Ray critiques evangelicalism but does so from the inside without rancor. Christian voices like Ray’s give me hope that evangelical engagement with science will not entirely devolve into monkey science.”
–Jim Stump, vice president of programs at BioLogos and host of the Language of God podcast
About the Author
Janet Kellogg Ray is an enthusiastic science educator, explainer, and communicator. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction, with eighteen years of teaching biology at the university level.
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