Faith and questions of society · Question 5
“If I accept evolution and the Big Bang, am I giving up the Catholic faith?”
The question: “When Genesis and modern science differ, does the Church deny the science?”
The Church's answer: Catholicism does not regard the long history of the universe, Big Bang cosmology or biological evolution — studied according to the scientific evidence — as essentially contradicting the faith. Genesis teaches the truth of faith that God is the Creator of everything that exists and that human beings, in his image, hold a particular dignity; it is not a book written like a modern scientific report. Science studies the ‘how’ of natural processes, and faith also asks after the ultimate origin and meaning of existence.
If they press further: “So the Bible isn't factual?” — The truth of Scripture has to be read according to its literary form and the author's intention. Not reading a poem as a news report, or a parable as a lab record, does not make it a lie.
In one sentence: “Catholicism can accept evolution and the study of the cosmos, and it reads Genesis not as a science textbook but as the word revealing the Creator and human dignity.”