The SCS conference on “Evolution and the Catholic Understanding of Creation” was held on April 23-4 at the Franciscan Universty of Steubenville. The conference was co-sponsored by Franciscan University, the McGrath Institute for Church Life of the University of Notre Dame, and the Lumen Christi Institute. The conference was partially funded by a grant from the John F. Templeton Foundation.

CLICK HERE for the YOUTUBE VIDEOS of the conference Introduction and ALL SIX CONFERENCE TALKS.

Biographies of the speakers

Kenneth W. Kemp is Professor Emeritus of philosophy at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He received an MA in the history and philosophy of science and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.  Much of his recent research has been centered on the relation of science and religion. His book The War That Never Was: Evolution & Christian Theology was published by Cascade earlier this year.  He is currently writing a history of Catholic evolutionism.  Prof. Kemp is a Scholar Associate of SCS. 

Chris Baglow is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Theology at University of Notre Dame, and the Director of the Science and Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame.  Prof. Baglow directed the Templeton-funded Steno Learning Program in Faith and Science for Catholic Secondary Educators (SLP), a week-long seminar experience for Catholic science and religion teachers. He is the author of Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, 2^nd ed. (Midwest Theological Forum, 2019), the first and only textbook on the science and religion ever written for use in Catholic schools.   He is on the Executive Board of SCS. 

John Cavadini is Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, having served as Chair of the department from 1997-2010. Since 2000 he has served as the Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at Notre Dame. He received his Ph.D. in 1988 from Yale University.  Prof. Cavadini specializes in patristic and early medieval theology, the theology of St. Augustine, and the history of biblical and patristic exegesis. In 2009, he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to a five-year term on the International Theological Commission. Cavadini has served as a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Doctrine since 2006 and was also named by Pope Benedict to the Order of the Knights of St. Gregory the Great.

Cory Hayes is a professor of Philosophy and Theology at St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, LA.  He holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA.  He has lectured widely for the Science and Religion Initiative of the McGrath Institute for Church Life of the University of Notre Dame. Prof. Hayes’s research and teaching interests include: Byzantine and Eastern Christian theology, Philosophy of Nature, and the relation between Catholic theology, philosophy, and empirical science.  He a member of the Theological Advisory Committee of the Society for Catholic Scientists. 

Dan Kuebler is the Dean of the School of Natural and Applied Sciences at Franciscan University. He is also a Professor of Biology and is responsible for teaching courses in evolution, cell biology, and science and faith. His biological research involves studying adult stem cells in bone marrow and adipose tissue for use in orthopedic treatments. He is the co-author of a book entitled The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories (Baker Academic), which is a scientific critique of the various theories of evolutionary thought and is currently working on a book examining the integration of Catholic teaching and evolution. He has presented and published academic papers regarding evolution and faith and has authored a variety of popular articles on science, evolution, and religion.  

Simon Conway Morris is Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the University of Cambridge in the UK.  He is best known for his work on the “Cambrian explosion”, the Burgess Shale fossil fauna, and similar deposits in China and Greenland. In addition to working in these countries he has undertaken research in Australia, Canada, Mongolia and the United States. His studies on the Burgess Shale-type faunas, as well as the early evolution of skeletons, has encompassed a wide variety of groups, ranging from ctenophores to the earliest vertebrates.  In January, 2017, his team announced the discovery of an early ancestor of vertebrates, a bag-like sea creature, which lived about 540 million years ago. He gave the 2007 Gifford Lectures.and is the recipient of many other prestigious awards including the 1987 Walcott Medal, the 1989 Charles Schuchert Award 1989, the 1998 Charles Lyell Medal, and the 2007 Trotter Prize. He is the author of several books, including Life’s Solution (Cambridge, 2003).  Prof. Conway Morris is a Christian who has lectured widely on the relation of science and faith.