Maurice Bloch, an anthropologist at the London School of Economics, is challenging the popular belief that religion evolved because of its effects on social bonding. Instead, argues Bloch in his recent article "Why religion is nothing special but is central," published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, the emergence of religion was dependent on the evolution of the human capacity to imagine things that don't physically exist and an afterlife. "What the transcendental social requires," he says, "is the ability to live very largely in the imagination."
Our unique ability to imagine is the reason that other animals, no matter how closely related to us they are, don't have religious experiences, he says; while humans can imagine both forward and backward in time, other animals cannot think past their immediate social interactions and status. While religion remains critical to social development, Bloch says, once "we realize this omnipresence of the imaginary in the everyday, nothing special is left to explain concerning religion." —Evan Peck

Francisco Ayala, an evolutionary biologist and geneticist at the University of California, Irvine, and a former Dominican priest, is profiled in The New York Times today, and he speaks out about the relationship between science and religion. Ayala, who's also the author of Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion, sees evolution as compatible with belief in God and says that evolution "is more consistent with belief in a personal god than intelligent design. If God has designed organisms, he has a lot to account for," he says, and would be considered an "abortionist," a "sadist," and a "lousy engineer." He also dismisses the idea that its only fair to teach religious theories like creationism and ID alongside evolution. “We don’t teach alchemy along with chemistry,” he says. “We don’t teach witchcraft along with medicine. We don’t teach astrology with astronomy." —Heather Wax

The House of Representatives voted 71-43 yesterday to pass an "academic freedom" bill that would require Florida public school teachers to offer a "thorough presentation and scientific critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution" in science class. (The bill has been changed significantly from the original version introduced by Republican Representative Alan Hays.) "What this bill does is tell the teacher, go ahead and teach the theory of evolution and make sure your students have a complete view of that theory and they know that it is only a theory, it is not gospel law," said Hays. Yet opponents (almost entirely Democrats) see the bill as trying to sneak religious alternatives, like creationism and "intelligent design," into the science classroom. While Hays claims the bill has nothing to do with religion, he did say that "too many people are afraid to even mention the theory of intelligent design."
But chances are now slim for the legislation. The House version of the bill has no chance, given that it calls for a mandatory "critical analysis," language the Senate has already firmly rejected. Proponents can hope that the House Republicans will be convinced to approve the Senate version of the bill (passed by a vote of 21-17 last week)—which allows teachers to "present scientific information relevant to the full range of views on biological and chemical evolution" without fear of punishment—but the legislative session ends on Friday. Governor Charlie Grist will not yet say whether he would sign the measure, if it gets that far. —Heather Wax

Brown University biologist Ken Miller (co-author with Joseph Levine of the widely used textbook Biology) answers questions and speaks out against "intelligent design" in this week's Publishers Weekly, which recently reviewed his new book on evolution, Only a Theory.

Another "academic freedom" bill has been introduced in Louisiana. The "Louisiana Academic Freedom Act" is sponsored by Republican Representative Frank Hoffman, former superintendent of the Ouachita Parish School System, and is the House version of the "Louisiana Science Education Act" (renamed from the "Louisiana Academic Freedom Act"), which has already passed the Louisiana Senate Education Committee (in revised form). —Heather Wax

The Ledger is running a series of stories looking at how people reconcile science and faith in their lives. Today, the Florida paper (with help from the St. Petersburg Times) tells the story of Steven Gey, a law professor at Florida State University who has Lou Gehrig's disease. While many of his students are conservative Christians, Gey, an American Civil Liberties attorney, promotes the scientific method, rational inquiry, and humanism. Yet his bond with his students—as well as his illness—has given them the opportunity to share their ideologies and beliefs. —Heather Wax

By a vote of 21-17, the Florida Senate passed an "academic freedom" bill yesterday that would allow teachers to "present scientific information relevant to the full range of views on biological and chemical evolution" without fear of punishment. Republican Senator Ronda Storms, who introduced the bill, says its necessary to protect teachers and students who question or criticize evolution (though the Department of Education has no reported case in which a Florida public school teacher or student was discriminated against based on their science teaching or course work). Opponents of the bill, however, say it's trying to sneak religious alternatives to evolution into the science classroom and to weaken the state's new science standards, which use the word "evolution" for the first time. "I know that the bill doesn't even mention creationism," said Senator Arthenia Joyner, "but that's what it's about." Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, who has long spoken out against the bill, called the debate "embarrassing."
The Senate did shoot down an amendment that would have lined the bill up with its House version, which does more than protect teachers and students who criticize evolution from being disciplined; the House bill, sponsored by Republican Representative Alan Hays (and which could go before the House for consideration by the end of the week), puts the onus on public school teachers, requiring them to provide "a thorough presentation and critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution." The bill was changed significantly from the original version introduced by Hays, and the changes are quite different from those made on the Senate version of the bill (the two bills started off as identical). Proponents of the bills are running out of time for a compromise. The legislative session ends on May 2. —Heather Wax