September 2025 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following 20 items:
- Vote for a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2026;
- Across the Cosmos for September 2025: The Interactive Nature of Star Birth;
- Preaching with the Sciences;
- The Scopes Trial Isn't Done Shaping America;
- Science is Good Dashboard;
- The Christian Right is Going Mainstream;
- The Lord's Prayer is Coming to Texas Public Schools;
- Making a Mockery of Science;
- Will Christian Nationalists Successfully Outlaw Gay Marriage;
- Reports of the National Center for Science Education;
- Scopes Trial Centennial Symposium;
- Reflections on Awe and Judaism;
- Faith and Science Curriculum for the New School Year;
- How Interfaith Schools Help Resist ICE;
- Dealing with Despair;
- Support for Our Climate Letter from Pakistan;
- A Liturgy on Creation Care;
- Where Liberation Theology, Neuroscience and Social Justice Meet;
- A New Science and Faith Podcast; and
- Our Lost and Stolen Sense of Community.
1. Vote for a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2026
With Religion and Science Weekend 2026 quickly approaching, it’s time to vote on a theme for the weekend. Before presenting possible themes, I want to thank all who submitted suggestions.
Please take a look at the themes below and vote for your two favorites. Simply place a 1 before your first choice and a 2 before your second choice and return this note to me. Thanks for taking the time to vote. And, if you’ve not yet signed up to participate in the Weekend, please do so now – again by dropping me a note. I’ll get you added to the webpage I’m building for 2026.
_____ Truth Matters
_____ How Religion/Faith and Science Can Prepare Us for the Future
_____ Religion and Science Are Under Attack in Contemporary America: The Clergy Letter Project Speaks for Both
_____ Recognizing the Importance of Religion and Science is Now More Important than Ever
_____ A Healthy Future Depends on Both Religion and Science
_____ We Raise Our Voices Together to Create a Better World
I look forward to hearing from you!
2. Across the Cosmos for September 2025: The Interactive Nature of Star Birth
In this month’s essay, Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, accomplishes an amazing amount in a few paragraphs. She describes some cutting-edge research on star formation, discusses the implications for finding habitable planets, and explains how citizen scientists have helped with this research. Very impressive!
Several years ago, I wrote a chapter entitled “The Interactive Cosmos” for a book that enlisted scientists and theologians to explore the concept of creative interaction as the basis for our understanding of reality.(1) A short section of that chapter touched on interactions among nascent stars. We’ve known for decades that most stars – including stars like our Sun – form in clusters, with “sibling” stars, rather than in isolation. We’ve also known that stars form along with planets. However, linking “full-grown” stars and their planetary systems to their birth environments is an ongoing and very complex problem!
Most stars form in what we call hub-filament systems, web-like structures where filaments that can be many light-years long feed gas into nodes known as “hubs.” Stars and star clusters can form in both filaments and hubs, although the most massive star clusters are thought to form where multiple filaments join together in a hub. A primary goal of the research my colleagues and I are conducting is to identify the properties of birthing environments that do and do not produce stars more than about 8 times as massive as our Sun.
Why is this important? Stars more than about 8 times as massive as our Sun end their “lives” in explosions known as supernovae. These explosions seed interstellar space with heavy elements generated via nucleosynthesis during the “short’” (cosmically speaking) million-year lifetimes of their progenitor stars. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that our Sun formed in an environment enriched by siblings that became supernovae. Planetary systems that form in such environments may be more likely to eventually produce habitable worlds.
How we’re going about linking birth environments to the stars they produce is beyond the scope of this column; however, it may be of interest that the young star-forming regions identified as “yellowballs” by citizen scientists who participated in the Milky Way Project are providing the sources for our studies.(2) We are in the final stages of publishing a paper that presents our new Mid-InfraRed Interstellar Objects and Nebulae (MIRION) catalog, which discusses the properties of thousands of these “yellowballs,” and introduces a project that enables introductory astronomy classes to contribute to our ongoing research.(3) Tolkien fans may recognize the word “Mirion” as Sindarin Elvish for the Silmarils, or jewels, that were used in crafting the Elven rings of power.(4) If you know of any astronomy instructors who might want to learn more about how they and their students might contribute to the study of these star-forming “jewels,” please don’t hesitate to contact me!
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (she/her/hers) (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist & Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (https://www.psi.edu/staff/profile/grace-wolf-chase/)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: www.casiras.org)1. Wolf-Chase, G.: The interactive cosmos. In: Albright, C., Albright, J., Turk, M. (eds.) Interactive World, Interactive God: The Basic Reality of Creative Interaction. Wipf and Stock, Eugene (2017). Chap. 3
2. This recent paper, which resulted from my election as a 2024 American Astronomical Society Fellow, discusses some of this: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14188
3. Some of this work was funded by NSF Grant No. 2307806 and a NASA Citizen Science Seed Funding Grant (Grant No. 20-CSSFP20-001).
4. See https://www.elfdict.com/w/mirion
3. Preaching with the Sciences
Ed Foley, the director of Preaching with the Sciences and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, informed me that he received a grant to compensate Roman Catholic Seminarians, deacon candidates and the newly ordained to engage the sciences by writing homily outlines for his website. You can learn more about this exciting project by reading his letter of invitation here.
4. The Scopes Trial Isn't Done Shaping America
Baptist News Global ran a very nice comprehensive story explaining how the Scopes trial is still influencing policy today. Do take a look at the piece. You can read it here.
5. Science is Good Dashboard
BioLogos has expanded their Science is Good campaign and has posted a host of useful articles online, including suggestions for actions individuals can take. Their tag line, “Science is a Gift From God,” neatly summarizes their perspective. You can access their enhanced webpages here.
6. The Christian Right is Going Mainstream
According to the Daily Beast, Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, has “reposted a video that features the leader of the Christian evangelical movement he follows calling to make gay sex illegal.” The video also praises slave owners and argues that woman should not have the right to vote. These extreme, fanatical, ideas are, in the name of religion, becoming increasingly mainstream and deserve our attention and resistance. You can read the article here.
7. The Lord's Prayer is Coming to Texas Public Schools
According to an article in The Texas Tribune, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn’t believe that requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools and creating time for prayer in those schools go far enough. Now, as the article explains, he has “encouraged students to practice the Lord’s Prayer as relayed in the King James Version of the Bible, marking the latest instance of a Texas public official endorsing Christianity over other faiths.” You can read the article here.
8. Making a Mockery of Science
The Guardian ran a story discussing the Trump regime’s recently released report downplaying the risks associated with climate change. The article’s headline and subhead, “Trump team’s contentious climate report ‘makes a mockery of science’, experts say – Over 85 top climate specialists lambasted administration’s review, calling it a ‘shoddy mess’ that downplays risks,” explains the situation well. You can read the piece here.
9.
Religion Unplugged ran a story exploring how the religious right is working to overturn the right for same-sex marriages. In the present climate, this effort might just be successful. You can read the article here.
10. Reports of the National Center for Science Education
The latest free issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education is now available. It’s filled with interesting pieces and leads with an article discussing the ongoing fight for evolution education. You can access the issue here.
11. Scopes Trial Centennial Symposium
Videos from the Scopes Trial Centennial Symposium, sponsored by Vanderbilt University's Evolutionary Studies Initiative and the National Center for Science Education, are now available online. You can access the videos here.
12. Reflections on Awe and Judaism
Our good friends at Sinai and Synapses have posted a panel discussion offering reflections on Awe and Judaism. The discussion is introduced as follows: “A common misconception about science is that it disenchants us from the world, explaining away events that may have inspired spiritual and religious feelings in the absence of knowledge. But Judaism, as a religious tradition that particularly values learning, begs to differ from this usual framework. As it finds moments of appreciation both big and small, and then learning about the nature of these moments, the Jewish perspective on awe is suffused with knowledge.” You can access the full discussion here.
13. Faith and Science Curriculum for the New School Year
I rarely promote commercial products unless some free copies are made available to members, but our good friends at BioLogos have created a faith and science curriculum that is worthy of breaking this rule. You can learn more about Integrate, a faith and science curriculum for middle and high school students, here.
14. How Interfaith Schools Help Resist ICE
Religion News Service has published an article detailing how some interfaith schools are helping to resist the efforts of ICE. The article’s authors note that “Our goal is not just to react to injustice, but to build durable power that can reshape public life and protect the vulnerable.” You can read the article here.
15. Dealing with Despair
Reverend David Droegemueller, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, and I had an email discussion he gave me permission to share with all of you. In response to a comment I made about feeling such despair about the state of the world, he wrote:
Don't know if this will offer any solace, but when I reach that point of utter despair (happens more now that when i was younger) and even cry out and wonder whether there is a God at all (I want to believe the cries of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt were something akin to mine) I try to remember the perspective Paul offered: "if for this life only we have hoped, we are of all people most to be pitied.
We live in a time where there may not be the traditional images of "false prophets," but there are scores of "fake christians" who in no way speak for Jesus, God, or anything bordering on good. I'm comforted (somewhat and sometimes) by the fact that my faith reminds me that my hope is not limited to the temporary components of this world and life, but is anchored in the promises of God, which are always true, even if not always evident. Our hope is also eternal, as it is contemporary. No one can take that hope from us. Even if they think they can.
When I wrote and thanked David for his thoughtful and moving words, and asked for permission to share them, he shared more of his thoughts with me. They are every bit as worth reading as are these. You can read them here.
16. Support for Our Climate Letter from Pakistan
I’m delighted to report that our Climate Crisis Letter continues to grow. Clergy from 20 countries have now signed on. Our latest addition is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Farhad Shahzad Bhatti, Chairman of Trust Shelter Organization in Faisalabad, Pakistan. In addition to adding his signature, he shared a personal statement I’ve posted on our webpage. While you can read it there, I’m reposting it here:
I deeply appreciate the vision to address the climate crisis with faith and science together, as it truly aligns with our responsibility as stewards of God's creation (Genesis 2:15). As you know, my heart also weeps for the crisis in Pakistan and climate change in the whole world where poor families are suffering daily from natural disasters, and poverty. In this brokenness, I still believe that our God of Heaven and Earth hear our united voices can bring hope—whether for the earth or for grieved humanity. Signing this letter is not just an act of advocacy, but also an act of faith, declaring that God's creation and God's people are worth protecting.
I hope his sentiment encourages you to add your signature to the letter if you’ve not yet done so. And I hope it encourages you to add a personal statement if you’ve not yet done so. Just let me know and I’ll take care of the details.
17. A Liturgy on Creation Care
Our good friends at Science for the Church have produced a liturgy on creation care. They note that the liturgy “is intended as a theological declaration and a deeply embodied spiritual practice for believers.” This might be of perfect use for your Religion and Science Weekend 2026 event. You can access the liturgy here.
18. Where Liberation Theology, Neuroscience and Social Justice Meet
Covalence Magazine published a fascinating interview with the Reverend Carmelo Santos, Director for Theological Diversity and Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Engagement at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As Susan Barreto, editor of Covalence, notes, “Santos has been asking the deeper questions that neuroscience is not likely to explore on its own, but in many ways what he’s found has the power to unite and reignite the church as a whole.” You can read the interview here.
19. A New Science and Faith Podcast
A new science and faith podcast will soon appear. One of the co-hosts is Pastor Will Rose, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and an ELCA pastor from North Carolina. You can learn more about the podcast here.
20. Our Lost and Stolen Sense of Community
The Rev. Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a frequent contributor to this newsletter, has shared another of his provocative short essays with us. His latest offering discusses the importance of community and the ways in which the Trump regime is destroying our communities. Ken concludes by noting “beneath everything else that separates us, we are of one human family, and we need to act like it." You can read his essay here.
Concluding Thoughts
These concluding thoughts are getting more and more difficult to write each month because it increasingly feels like the times are getting progressively darker. In the United States we have masked individuals apprehending people who have been in the country for decades seemingly because of traffic violations years ago. We see our national health infrastructure being assaulted. We see our universities under attack. And we see the attack on expertise, scientific and otherwise, continuing unabated. Frighteningly, all of this is often professed to being done in the name of religion and religious freedom. Internationally, the crisis in Gaza and Ukraine continue unabated and the assault on our collective climate is only getting worse. The one thing that helps me get through these times is knowing that there are so many of you, individuals who care about our shared humanity, about our planet, about religion and science, about what is morally appropriate, and your willingness to speak out to advocate for what you believe. Thank you for your actions, both big and small. They are necessary and if enough of us join together I believe we can create the world we desire and deserve.
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
https://bsky.app/profile/mzclergyletter.bsky.social