Joshua gets a very learned no-prize for bringing us news of the Cornell Evolution Project, which wishes to "determine the degree to which the world's leading evolutionary biologists believe in traditional religion, naturalism, and the philosophical implications of their science. A further goal will be to understand how they reconcile these disparate and often conflicting beliefs with their teaching and practice of evolutionary biology."

In other words, if I'm reading it correctly, they're going to see if evolutionary biologists "have religion", if so what sort, and how they reconcile their faith with the implications of their science.

On the face of it, the premise seems to imply that the science of evolutionary biology obviates faith, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to have their head examined. Humanistic atheisim at its most pure, if you will. Unfortunately, in my opinion, that premise is demonstrably false (faith involves a lot more than just explaining where it all came from), which makes me a bit suspicious of the entire project.

However, if done properly it could give us some fascinating insights into how biologists themselves deal with the higher philosophical implications of their work. If the study is not a giant snooze-fest, I may want to borrow it from Joshua when he's done.