November 2026 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following 24 items:
- Resilience and Renewal: Time to Sign Up for Religion and Science Weekend 2027;
- Across the Cosmos for November 2026: Zooniverse – The Lessons of Stories;
- Warmest October on Record;
- The Carbon Storage Myth;
- A History of Intelligent Design in America;
- Is AI Already Conscious?;
- AI Campaign Ads Use Religion to Stir Emotions;
- AI and Thou;
- Redefining Separation Between Church and State;
- The Measure of Power is Service;
- Witnessing on Behalf of Biodiversity;
- How Deep Is Our Faith?;
- Religious Leaders Counter Voter Intimidation;
- Attempting to Make AI Morally Good;
- God’s Creation, Evolution, and the Bible;
- God’s Creative Work in Quantum Physics, Part 1;
- God’s Creative Work in Quantum Physics, Part 2;
- Welcoming the Stranger;
- For Some Americans, Vaccines Aren’t About Science but Faith;
- Florida’s Proposed Science Standards Largely Ignore Evolution and Climate Change;
- How Schools Are Dealing with Posting Ten Commandments;
- On Materialism;
- Synthetic Spirituality: AI is Reshaping Religion; and
- Keep the Heat on Climate Change Fight.
1. Resilience and Renewal: Time to Sign Up for Religion and Science Weekend 2027
As I reported in last month’s newsletter, you voted for a theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2027:
Resilience and Renewal: Religion and Science in Times of Crisis
Our 2027 theme recognizes that individuals and communities are increasingly called to confront profound challenges, including environmental change, public health threats, social division, natural disasters, and economic uncertainty. In such moments, both religion and science provide essential resources for understanding reality and responding constructively. Science helps us comprehend the causes and consequences of crises, while religious traditions offer meaning, moral guidance, hope, and the strength to persevere. Together they help people face difficult truths without surrendering to despair.
History demonstrates that periods of crisis can also become opportunities for renewal. By drawing upon the insights of science and the wisdom of faith, communities can cultivate resilience, care for one another, and work toward a more just and sustainable future. Religion and science, each in its own way, call us to be responsible stewards of creation and compassionate neighbors, encouraging us not only to endure times of crisis but also to emerge from them with renewed purpose and hope.
I hope you find this theme as exciting as I do and I hope it encourages you to participate in our celebration of religion and science (12-14 February). Remember that participation can take many forms. You can focus on our selected theme, or you can take another avenue to demonstrate the compatibility of religion and science. You can offer a sermon, a lunch discussion, an invited speaker, a children’s class, an adult seminar, a note in your weekly bulletin or any other event you deem appropriate. And you can participate on the weekend we’ve historically designated for Religion and Science Weekend (12-14 February) or at any other time if that specific weekend doesn’t work for you. What’s important is the message you share. As always, our event, rather than having a central location, is distributed across congregations and other groups around the world. Together we reach thousands of people with our message detailing the importance of both religion and science while demonstrating their compatibility. Indeed, over the years, we’ve reached approximately two million people directly and orders of magnitude more via news reports of our efforts. Together we can make this Religion and Science Weekend, our 22nd iteration of this wonderful tradition, a huge success.
Please check our growing list of participants and if you’re not yet on it, please sign up now!
_____Great theme! I plan to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2027 (12-14 February 2027). Please add me and my congregation to the growing list of participants
Name of Congregation (or other group):
Location:
Your Name:
2. Across the Cosmos for November 2026: Zooniverse – The Lessons of Stories
In this month’s installment of Across the Cosmos, Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, discusses the power of stories and encourages you to participate in a research project designed to analyze the moral choices characters make across multiple genres of fiction.
Science fiction stories played a large role in my decision to become a scientist; however, it wasn’t just the science that appealed to me. I’ve frequently said that good science fiction starts with what is, envisions what might be, and explores what should be. It raises ethical, philosophical, and theological or religious questions. It tells modern-day parables, and, much like the prophets of ages past, predicts consequences of human actions. It tells good stories. As clergy know, and many scientists have come to realize, stories are powerful catalysts for communicating ideas and provoking deeper thought.
When the new Zooniverse project, The Lessons of Stories, was announced on election day, I immediately thought that many CLP members might be interested in participating! The research team wants help from volunteers to “study the moral choices of characters in books, movies, and beyond.” In the words of the project’s leader, “Stories help us see what it feels like to choose and sacrifice values in our everyday lives. With your help we can better understand the values and their tensions illustrated by stories from around the world.”
The researchers note that every story in the project was written by real people, and AI is only used to condense existing stories into short moral choice cards. The cards never suggest which values are involved. Volunteers read the cards and identify the specific values that are promoted or sacrificed through the scenarios. You can find more details about the research, including a description of the moral values, which are drawn from Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values, here.
I strongly encourage you to go to the website and learn more about this fascinating project – I’d be willing to bet that participation might even generate some ideas for sermons, and I’m sure the research team would appreciate your feedback through the discussion board. I’d love to hear what you think, too, so I invite you to email me as well with your comments!
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (she/her/hers) (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist & Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/gwchase)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: www.casiras.org)3. Warmest October on Record
An article just published in Copernicus explains the latest climate change news. It notes, “October 2026 was the warmest October on record globally and the third consecutive month with temperatures more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level. The annual global temperature for 2026 is also predicted to exceed 1.5°C. For Europe as a whole, it was the second-warmest October on record.” You can read the article here.
4. The Carbon Storage Myth
ProPublica has published a research article explaining why carbon storage is not going to be the solution to the climate crisis. The article’s headline and subhead nicely summarizes the thrust of the piece: “False Promises: Why carbon capture and storage won’t fix our climate crisis.” You can read the interesting article here.
5. A History of Intelligent Design in America
The latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education included a review of a book entitled Science: A History of Intelligent Design in America. You can read the review here.
6. Is AI Already Conscious?
Religion Unplugged recently ran a story with the following provocative headline: “AI Might Be Conscious. If So, God Help Us.” You can read the piece here.
7. AI Campaign Ads Use Religion to Stir Emotions
Even though the 2026 mid-term elections are over, there is much we can learn from them. Prior to voting Religion News Service ran a story with this headline: “Flashy AI campaign ads use religion to stir emotions and attack candidates.” You won’t be disappointed if you take a look at it here.
8. AI and Thou
Rabbi Dennis Ross, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, had an interesting article posted on his blog associated with The Times of Israel. The piece is entitled AI and Thou and you can read it here.
9. Redefining Separation Between Church and State
The Washington Post ran a story that might have serious impact on how evolution may be taught in public schools. The story’s subhead explains that “The Roberts court has redefined the separation of church and state. This term may show how far it will go.” You can read the article here.
10. The Measure of Power is Service
Pope Radislav I of Rome-Ruthenia, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, has released a statement addressed “To the Heads of State and Government of the Group of Twenty and to All People of Good Will In Advance of the 2026 G20 Leaders’ Summit.” His powerful statement touches on many scientific issues that should be of interest to members. You can read it here.
11. Witnessing on Behalf of Biodiversity
The Rev. Jessica Hetherington is a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a climate activist with a wonderful blog. She’s written a compelling piece about her travel to Armenia to participate in the Convention on Biological Diversity COP 17. You can read her thoughts here.
12. How Deep Is Our Faith?
Following up on her trip to COP 17 in Armenia mentioned in the last item, Jessica reflects on the story of Noah’s Ark and the importance of biodiversity. She notes that the story of Noah is “a common tale most associated with children, but that isn’t a children’s story at all.” Her sermon on this topic invites “all of us to ask ourselves, how deep is our faith?” You can read it here.
13. Religious Leaders Counter Voter Intimidation
While not directly related to religion and science, I thought you’d be interested in a story the AP ran about the recent mid-term elections. The piece's headline explains the focus: “Faith leaders unite across religions to counter voter intimidation on Election Day.” You can read the story here.
14. Attempting to Make AI Morally Good
The AP recently ran a story with this provocative headline: “To make AI morally good, tech companies are turning to religion. But some say it isn’t that simple.” You can read the story here.
15. God’s Creation, Evolution, and the Bible
Our friends at Science for the Church are publishing seven essays by Ted Peters, an ELCA pastor, co-editor of the journal Theology and Science and a member of The Clergy Letter Project. In the third essay Ted discusses evolution. You can read it here.
16. God’s Creative Work in Quantum Physics, Part 1
Science for the Church continues with the seven-part series written by Ted Peters. In a two-part piece, Ted discusses God’s creative work in quantum physics. You can read part one here.
17. God’s Creative Work in Quantum Physics, Part 2
And you can read part two of Ted Peters's reflections on God’s creative work in quantum physics here.
18. Welcoming the Stranger
Science for the Church ran an interesting interview with social psychologist Taylor West about her research dealing with the science of connecting with strangers. There’s a great deal here that you might find useful as you welcome newcomers to your congregations. You can read the interview here.
19. For Some Americans, Vaccines Aren’t About Science but Faith
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) recently ran an interview with Kira Ganga Kieffer about her new book Unvaccinated Under God: Religion and Vaccine Hesitancy in Modern America. The piece opens by explaining, “None of the major world religions oppose vaccines, yet thousands of Americans claim that immunizations conflict with their faith.” You can read the interview here.
20. Florida’s Proposed Science Standards Largely Ignore Evolution and Climate Change
Our good friends at the National Center for Science Education have been closely following what the state of Florida is attempting to do with their science standards. The proposed iteration ignores or “dances around” both evolution and climate change. You can read more details here.
21. How Schools Are Dealing with Posting Ten Commandments
One day prior to the mid-term elections, The Washington Post ran a story detailing how some Texas schools are dealing with the state mandate to post the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. The piece makes for interesting reading. Given the blue wave that swept across Texas the following day, it’s unclear what will happen to mandates of this sort. You can read the story here.
22. On Materialism
I’m delighted to say that The Rev. Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a frequent contributor to this newsletter, has shared another of his great essays with us. This one is entitled “On Materialism.” In it, Ken laments the fact that “Congregations used to expect their pastors to give messages against materialism. Now, not so much.” He also notes, “Bill Clinton’s statement, ‘It’s the economy, Stupid’ could simply be a practical recognition of a key factor in election turnout, but it’s often more: the crass mantra of the simple-minded whose unspoken outlook is that life centers on material things – this, instead of the morally good, the transcendent truth, and the profoundly beautiful.” You can read his essay here.
23. Synthetic Spirituality: AI is Reshaping Religion
The peer reviewed journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications published an interesting article in October discussing the ways in which AI is reshaping religion. The piece notes, “As LLMs increasingly mediate spiritual inquiry—by providing instant scriptural explanations, personalized guidance, and simulated access to prophetic or mystical figures—their integration raises urgent questions for scholars of religion, anthropology, and digital humanities regarding authority, interpretation, and religious agency.” You can read the full article here.
24. Keep the Heat on Climate Change Fight
The Catholic Register has a good essay entitled “Keep the Heat on Climate Change Fight” which discusses the continuing moral responsibility of religious communities to address climate change in the lead-up to COP 31 in Antalya, Turkey. You can read the piece here. And, if you haven’t already done so, this would be a great time to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter. Just drop me a note and I’ll get you added.
Concluding Thoughts
Although death and destruction are still raining down in Ukraine, Gaza and southern Lebanon, elections around the globe this past month provided some hope that the world might be headed in a slightly better direction. As liberal democracy gains a foothold, science and religion are likely to be advanced in its wake. I hope this is the case. With this hope, our collective work gains needed momentum and shows promise of positive returns. Thank you for all you do!
Finally, as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org
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