ABSTRACT
Jews in the United States have made astonishing contributions to science and largely find a compatibility of scientific discoveries with their religion. Key features of Jewish engagement in science are the love of debate in their study of Torah and thus a flexible, multivalent approach to their sacred scriptures, as well as a desire to assimilate into the United States. They have been able to integrate a commitment to God as Creator with a widespread acceptance of biological evolution from liberal to conservative Jews—except when it’s been linked to eugenics and philosophical materialism. Jewish openness to new ideas has given them an ability to interact with technology, but not without critique and a willingness to set limits. The commitment to tikkun olam, or the “healing of the world,” grounds the Jewish ethic in evolutionary creation, but even more in social engagement.
