It’s your first day of your freshman year at Mizzou. You walk into your eight o’clock Biology class, less than thrilled that you signed yourself up for morning courses. Your teacher wastes no time beginning class. You’re surprised to see that the first topic of discussion is evolution. After raising your hand, you ask what you considered to be a simple question: “What exactly is the theory of evolution?” Everyone in your class, including the teacher, simply laughs.

This less-than-preferable scenario is exactly why the Westminster Science Department currently teaches and discusses the theory of evolution with students. When WCA students and parents find themselves asking, “Why teach evolution, an idea that many people associate with atheism, at a Christian school?”, it is crucial that we look to our mission statement: [enabling] students to discover and embrace a biblical view of the world and integrate that view into every area of life. In order for students to embrace this view and change the world for Jesus, they must first understand the world around them, and that comes from awareness of the way it thinks.

“It is essential that our students understand how other people think, whether that be inside the Christian community or outside of it,” said Dr. Andrew Shaw, co-chair of the Westminster Science Department.

Westminster has decided that Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution are worth teaching, and they are worth teaching well.

“Many people, including Christians, are often confused about what evolution is and the arguments Darwin made for evolution. Academic integrity demands that this topic is dealt with honestly, openly, fairly, and completely.” said Warren Smith, a Biology teacher here at Westminster.

In recent years, Christians have responded in significantly different ways to evolution. Today, some Christians have found merit in the ideas of evolution due to their unwavering belief in a sovereign, all-powerful God, who controls every aspect of life. This is a concept many Westminster students have never heard before entering a biology classroom their junior year.

“It’s been our experience that a lot of students have come into our classes having not been taught [evolution] at all, or they have been taught it very incompletely,” said Smith.

By teaching evolution at a Christian school, teachers are able to help students in understanding the scientific ideas of evolution in relation to their faith. Students are able to freely discuss and consider the ideas of evolution without any pressure to accept the ideas as truth or reject them. If a student’s first time hearing about evolution is in college, he or she is bound to have lots of questions, questions that may not be properly answered in a public college classroom.

The goal is to equip students with tools that allow them to assess the claims of mainstream science while remaining true to their faith. It is critical that students are able to form strong opinions rooted in their faith before leaving Westminster.     

While some students may find that they agree with some of the concepts of evolution, others may find that they do not agree with any of it. WCA science teachers are completely fine with both ends of the spectrum, as long as students have honestly wrestled with the material and have spent time evaluating it.

“Be willing to think. Be willing to learn. Be willing to evaluate it on its merit, or lack thereof. Be willing to listen. We are not going to force a way of thinking on any student,” said Smith.

Currently, the science department is in the process of editing and finalizing a statement regarding teaching about evolution at a Christian school. It highlights that God is the creator of everything and that he sustains His creation in an active way. Westminster’s goal is to help students develop a God-centered worldview so they can think critically about the ideas around them, and teaching evolution is helpful in accomplishing that goal.