The denomination (CRC) needs to regain the trust of open-minded young people and scientists alike—to make us feel like a needed part of the body without fear of amputation, like the one that just happened at Calvin.

“The perception is that the denomination believes in evolution . . . no we don’t” —CRC pastor quoted in the July 2011 Banner (p. 37).

There has been lengthy discussion in the Christian Reformed Church about retaining and attracting young people to the denomination—in essence, us.

We are both 27 years old, CRC born and raised, and educated at Calvin College. When we moved five years ago, we joined a Presbyterian church (PCUSA) because there were no Christian Reformed churches in our new city. We did not leave because of faith issues, simply geography, but now we wonder if there is a place for us in the denomination if we return to a CRC area.

You see, we are evolutionary biologists. When a Calvin religion professor recently left the college over the well-publicized evolution flap, many Banner readers no doubt viewed it as confirmation that an anti-evolution view is the official position of the church.

When we did our own research into the Acts of Synod, particularly those of 1991 and 2010, we were pleasantly surprised to find that, officially, the church is not anti-evolution at all. If that is the case, then why does the perception that the CRC rejects evolution persist?

The evolution issue is a microcosm of why the denomination is hemorrhaging college-educated young adults, even Calvin graduates.

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Steve Roels has a master’s degree from KU in ecology and evolutionary biology and is an associate at the Kansas Land Trust. Sarah Bodbyl Roels will receive her Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology in 2012. They are members of First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, Kansas. This article appeared in the November 18, 2011 online version of The Banner