By: Lauren Reiniger

December 5, 2012

On the evening of Nov. 15 Dominican University’s St. Catherine of Siena Center hosted its annual Albertus Magnus Lecture: “Human Evolution and the Image of God” by Celia Deane-Drummond, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Prior to joining Notre Dame in 2011, Deane-Drummod held a professorial chair in theology and the biological sciences at the University of Chester, as well as director of its Centre for Religion and the Biosciences. In May 2011, she was elected Chair of the European Forum for the study of Religion and Environment and served as editor of the international journal Ecotheology from 2000-2006.

She has written or edited 22 books, numerous articles and book chapters in the areas of theology, ethics and environmental studies. In addition to her concurrent appointment in Notre Dame’s Department of Theology and the College of Science, she was elected as a fellow of the university’s Eck Institute for Global Health.

Deane-Drummond brought her uniquely informed perspective to the issue, speaking about her belief that throughout the history of Christian belief humans were thought to have been made in the image of God and in terms of human evolution.

Siena Center Director Dr. Claire Noonan said, “The Siena Center was proud to host Dr. Celia Deane-Drummond. Dominican University is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, and our Catholic tradition understands faith and reason as compatible avenues to truth.”

“Dr. Deane-Drummond’s lecture was an excellent example of how emerging scientific knowledge and insights of the Christian faith might be brought into dialogue. I think everyone present walked away with a greater understanding of and better questions about what it means to be human,” Noonan said.

The Albertus Magnus Lecture honors the Dominican saint, who is patron of scientists, and his feast day, which is Nov. 15

The Albertus Magnus Society, a gathering of people who share an academic, professional or general interest in exploring issues related to the intersection of religious belief or experience and scientific insight, meets regularly throughout the academic year in the pursuit of new information and insight in a setting that is both scholarly and congenial.

Junior Sandra Lopez said, “I thought the presentation itself was interesting. I sometimes wonder about the origins of religious worship and how it evolved along with humans.”