Science & Mormons, Jon Huntsman & Mitt Romney

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

That tweet from former Utah Governor and US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman sure lit a firestorm of controversy.

After, all you can't be a Republican and believe in science, right?

Apparently. After all, as The Daily Beast points out, the only other Republican candidate to accept climate change and evolution is former Governor Mitt Romney.

Yep, the two Mormons in the race are the two science believers.

Well, until Mitt flip flops on this issue, but for the time being, he believes!

The Daily Beast points out that a 2008 Pew poll found that only 22 percent of Mormons believed in Evolution. I'm sure the percentage of Utah Mormon politicians that believe in Evolution is about the same, but those 22% are Democrats.

Similarly, the Utah Legislature doesn't believe in Climate Change. They even passed a resolution saying so. And several science professors from that liberal school in Provo called BYU sent them a letter of disapproval.

My favorite quote from the article:

In general, says John Bell, a professor of physiology and developmental biology at BYU, he and his colleagues teach students that evolution is not a take-it-or-leave-it theory, but rather a fact that can fit comfortably into an orthodox Mormon world view.

Bell puts it this way: “Religion doesn’t make an attempt to explain the mechanisms of how the world works; it tries to give meaning to it. Whereas, with science it’s the opposite; we’re trying to figure out how the world works. You don’t’ have to feel insecure about your faith just because you’re trying to engage in good science.”