Old Science, New Problems: A Theological Analysis of John Zahm's Attempt to Bridge Evolution and Roman Catholicism

In 1898, the Vatican issued a censure to John Zahm, a North American priest and scientist, for publishing the book Evolution and Dogma. While Zahm’s political connections ensured the censure was not published, he never again wrote on the matter of evolution and theology. This thesis argues that Zahm’s censure was partly predicated upon his theological and philosophical conceptions of science, especially as these stood contrary to the Neo-Scholastic philosophies of science held closely by the senior Vatican officials who issued the censure. In arguing so, the dissertation intends to exemplify the value of investigating the philosophical approach to science in historical theological discussions.