Over the past two decades, high profile debates over human origins, abortion, and stem cell research have distracted from the opportunities that scientists and religious Americans have to forge relationships built on common values and goals.

Though topics such as the teaching of evolution may generate disagreements, other areas of science such as health, sustainability, climate change, and food security may not. Even in the face of disagreements, dialogue-based efforts can help break down stereotypes between scientists and people of faith, cultivating mutual respect and personal relationships.

These are some of the main points of emphasis in the new American Association for the Advancement of Science report, “Scientists in Civic Life: Facilitating Dialogue-Based Communication.” The booklet provides an overview on relevant research, practices, and examples that scientists can draw on in encouraging more thoughtful dialogue about science and society.

In authoring the report, I spent the past 18 months collaborating with staff at the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Society (DoSER). The publication is the first in a series of science communication-related resources funded by AAAS, the John Templeton Foundation, and private donors.

The aim of the new booklet is to empower scientists and their institutions to play a more active role in bringing Americans of diverse backgrounds together to spend time talking to each other, contributing to mutual appreciation and collaboration. Churches are a vital, yet overlooked, place to begin.

Networks of engagement

Religion is more than just a belief system that shapes how people understand science or prioritize a problem like climate change. Churches are communication centers where information can be shared and conversations can take place about science and technology-related issues.

For these reasons and others, it is important for scientists to build strong relationships with their local churches, temples, and mosques.

Congregational leaders rely on strong interpersonal bonds and norms of stewardship to encourage their members to participate in civic-related activities. These networks are further strengthened by the moral framing of issues by church leaders, the conversations that church-goers have with others, and information provided directly when at church.

Churches and other faith institutions can therefore serve as powerful networks of civic recruitment. In such contexts, people receive requests to become involved in their communities. They may be called upon to help people recover from the impacts of climate change, to work on actions to educate their communities about public health, or to voice their opinions to elected officials on topics like evolution or biomedical research.

Studies show that the more requests a person receives in a social setting like a church, the higher the level of their civic and political participation. Similarly, the time that church-goers invest in building relationships with each other and in shared communal action translates into higher rates of civic participation outside of the church (see figure above from report).

Conversation starters

In facilitating productive dialogue about science topics that intersect with faith and religion, all scientists have a role to play. Regardless of their personal beliefs, when engaging in conversations with faith communities, scientists can connect around common values and interests.

Every scientist is also likely to find something in common with people and groups who live and work in their local community. As fellow residents, scientists can build connections by way of their identification with localpastimes, sport teams, entertainment choices, favorite businesses, economictrends, school districts, cultural traditions, natural resources, and climate/weather events.

Scientists who are themselves already a part of faith communities may beparticularly well-positioned to serve as trusted dialogue brokers. By one 2011/2012 survey estimate, approximately 11 percent of U.S. biologists and physicists say they attend church services at least weekly and a similar proportion say they hold no doubts about the existence of God. More than one-third claim a religious affiliation (see Table below).

Through their shared beliefs and community membership, these“boundary pioneers” are likely to be effective at facilitating conversations between their fellow scientists and those members of the public who share their faith.

In doing so, boundary pioneers can draw on their own experience to share insights on the relationship between science and their personal faith.

A leading example is Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who as a Christian Evangelical regularly speaks to congregations about climate science, drawing on her faith to connect to audiences by way of a shared identity and language.