Remember when religious institutions had the balls to be proud of their ignorance? Well, it seems the tides are turning for a group of churches in Oxford, England.

“Professor” Ward will discuss the question “How can we talk about God in a Darwinian World?” in a conference that is intended to celebrate Darwin’s achievements and contribution to current thinking.

The Rev Tim Stead, Priest-in-charge of Headington Quarry, Oxford, who is organising the conference, said: “One of our aims in holding this conference is to go some way towards redressing the impression that some of the general public have that Christians are anti-science and anti-Darwin.

In fact many Christians want to celebrate Darwin’s huge contribution to our worldview. This is a chance to set the record straight and to explore how it is possible for faith to sit alongside Darwin’s views.”

The statement comes after 200 years of religiously motivated persecution, ridicule, mockery and insults from the religious institution towards those daring to chose science and reason over doctrine and dogma. Most religious institutions still insist that a supernatural invisible omnipotent being -a so-called “god”- created everything, including human beings using dirt and magical powers inherit to the sky being.

• http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=3670
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/7876680.stm