What would motivate a graduating senior to write a 110-page thesis in high school? Growing up, I never questioned the compatibility of the Bible and evolution. I went to a Catholic school for pre-K through 8th grade, and Catholics are very receptive of evolutionary thought. In 1950, Pope Pius XII stated in Humani Generis that evolution was not contrary to any doctrine, and in 1996, this position was confirmed by and elaborated upon by Pope John Paul II. They both, however, hold that the human soul is of divine, not natural, origin. While not all Catholics accept evolution, the Catholic school I went to was in adherence with these teachings, and I remember as early as 5th grade being told that science teaches us “why” while faith teaches us “how.”
I went to three different high schools, but the one I spent my senior and junior years at was a non-denominational Christian school that I absolutely adored. Many private schools are only nominally religious, offering some religion classes and having some religious services, but this school really cared. All of the teachers were so invested in their faith and the wellbeing of their students. Prayer was an essential part of student life, and the environment felt very Christian. In my theology classes, I never felt like I was learning anything along the lines of where Catholics and Protestants may diverge, and the bulk of my spiritual development happened while attending this school, supported by Christian friends and teachers.
The only time I ever had a “Wait, what?” moment was during my Biblical Interpretation class junior year. We were learning about heresies such as Docetism, Arianism, Deism, and then the next slide was evolution. I was so confused, but I sat silently in class, not looking for a fight with the teacher. From that day, I looked forward to the class Honors Apologetics, which I would ultimately take my senior spring with seven others. The premise of the class was essentially just “write an 80-page paper defending some topic related to Christianity.” When that spring finally came around, I was consumed with my thesis. I could not be found without a book in my hands, and I finally felt like I had a passion project.
I started questioning and diving into so many Christian ideas I had always taken for granted—such as Original Sin and the concept of the image of God—but due to the short time span of this paper, I didn’t have time to pursue these questions as far as I wanted. Additionally, a huge part of my thesis was delving into Young Earth Creationism, and I would be lying if I said there weren’t times when I thought to myself, “Oh my goodness, modern science is a lie,” but I’m very grateful to have made it through that tunnel. Writing my thesis taught me how to do research, how to sift through both dense, ancient theological texts and technical research papers about topics I originally knew nothing about.
At the end of the semester, we gave a defense of our ideas, presenting our thesis to anyone in the high school who wanted to come and answering questions from both students and teachers. Then, it was over. I honestly think I had some version of post-thesis depression. I had intensely dedicated months of my life to this research, and it was all finished, yet my enthusiasm for the subject remained. I felt like there was nothing for me to do with it other than offer really specific information when any topic related to evolution or Genesis came up among friends.
What’s next?
Now attending college at the University of Notre Dame, I have had some wonderful opportunities in the past year to return to this subject I have loved. I attended the Organs and Origins conference in the fall of 2024, hearing from speakers such as Stephen Barr, the President of the Society of Catholic Scientists, Kieran McNulty, and Mariusz Tabaczek. I am currently taking the course Faith and Science: Toward a Relational Unity offered by Professor Christopher Baglow. At first, I was skeptical if there was anything left to learn after diving so deeply into this topic on my own. The answer has been a resounding “yes!” I have been learning a lot more about physics, examining what aspects of our universe point to a Creator, and grappling with the problem of evil. I have also realized that my research in high school started from a Christian perspective, but this course at ND launches from an explicitly Catholic perspective, meaning it has more solid doctrine to build off of.
Through this class, I have been given the opportunity to give a pre-review of the book Darwin and Doctrine by Daniel Kuebler, something I am very excited to do in the next few weeks. Additionally, I recently learned of a student chapter of the Society of Catholic Scientists here on campus that I hope to get involved with.
Ultimately, I would love to return to my thesis. There are many things I never truly figured out my stance on, such as the historicity of Adam and Eve. I also have caught more than a few typos in it which are driving me mad.
Without further ado,
Our teacher originally had our theses posted on a website, but it has since been taken down. I have wanted to give my thesis a home to forever live on the internet, and I am so pleased to finally do just that.
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