BioLogos Foundation

BioLogos Foundation is a Christian advocacy and educational organization associated with evolutionary creation, also known as theistic evolution. Its central position is that God is the creator of the universe and that evolutionary processes can be understood as part of the way creation unfolded. The organization presents this view as compatible with Christian faith and with mainstream scientific accounts of the history and development of life. The organization emerged from the work of geneticist Francis Collins, whose 2006 book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, argued that scientific investigation and religious belief need not be intellectual opposites. Collins used the term “BioLogos” to describe a theological understanding in which the natural world, including biological evolution, can be interpreted within a Christian account of creation. After receiving correspondence from readers seeking further discussion of these questions, Collins established the BioLogos Foundation in 2007. BioLogos initially focused primarily on Christians who were trying to reconcile contemporary science with their religious commitments. Its work has addressed evolution, genetics, cosmology, biblical interpretation, environmental questions, and broader questions about the relationship between scientific knowledge and Christian theology. Over time, the organization has also sought to communicate with scientifically interested general audiences and with people skeptical of religious claims. Its public-facing material commonly emphasizes that accepting evolutionary science does not necessarily require abandoning belief in God or core Christian doctrines. The foundation distinguishes its approach from young Earth creationism and from intelligent-design arguments that reject or seek to replace evolutionary explanations. It argues that evolutionary creation can be held alongside historic Christian beliefs, and it has invoked earlier Christian thinkers and theologians who allowed room for theological reflection on natural processes. This position has made BioLogos a prominent participant in debates over science and religion, particularly within American Protestant circles. Francis Collins led the organization from its founding until 2009, when he left to become director of the National Institutes of Health. Darrel R. Falk then served as president, followed by Deborah Haarsma, who led the foundation from 2013 until March 2025. Kristine Torjesen became president in March 2025. During the COVID-19 pandemic, BioLogos sponsored livestream programming that included discussions involving Collins, then serving as NIH director, and other topics related to science, public health, and faith. From 2016 through 2022, BioLogos published the BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity series. The series extended the organization’s educational mission into book-length treatments of subjects at the intersection of scientific research, biblical interpretation, Christian doctrine, and public conversation. The foundation’s main activities are educational publishing, public communication, online resources, events, and advocacy for constructive engagement between science and Christian faith. It is not a consumer-goods company and does not appear to operate as a conventional commercial product brand.

BioLogos developed from a public conversation about whether Christian faith and modern science can be held together without weakening either. Francis Collins, a geneticist and prominent Christian author, described his own position in The Language of God, published in 2006. In that book, Collins rejected young Earth creationism and intelligent design as alternatives to evolutionary science and presented theistic evolution, or evolutionary creation, as a way of understanding God’s creative activity through natural processes. He described scientific discovery as capable of prompting religious wonder rather than undermining belief. The book generated correspondence from readers who wanted further resources and discussion. In response, Collins founded the BioLogos Foundation in 2007. The organization’s early purpose was to contribute a Christian public voice arguing that science and faith can be intellectually compatible. Its audience was initially concentrated among Christians uncertain about evolution or concerned that accepting evolutionary biology would conflict with biblical belief. BioLogos sought to address these concerns through essays, lectures, educational materials, and engagement with scientists and theologians. The foundation’s core message is that evolutionary creation is a legitimate Christian position. It accepts the scientific account of biological evolution while maintaining that the universe and life ultimately depend on God. BioLogos has therefore positioned itself between scientific skepticism toward religion and Christian movements that reject significant parts of contemporary science. Its work also challenges the assumption that Christian commitment requires opposition to evolutionary theory. In doing so, it has participated in wider debates over biblical interpretation, human origins, genetics, cosmology, and the boundaries between theological and scientific explanation. Collins served as president from the foundation’s establishment until August 2009. He then left the organization after becoming director of the National Institutes of Health. Darrel R. Falk served as president from August 2009 until January 2013. Deborah Haarsma became president in January 2013 and led the organization until March 2025. Kristine Torjesen became president in March 2025. The changes in leadership did not alter the foundation’s central commitment to evolutionary creation and constructive science-and-faith dialogue. As BioLogos matured, its communication expanded beyond an exclusively Christian audience. Collins and later leaders sought to engage scientists, science-interested members of the general public, and skeptics who viewed religion and science as incompatible. The organization continued to frame its work as both educational and apologetic: it explains scientific findings while defending the possibility of a coherent Christian interpretation of those findings. BioLogos has also emphasized continuity with selected historical Christian thinkers, arguing that reflection on creation and natural processes has not always required a literalist reading of every biblical passage. From 2016 to 2022, the foundation published the BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity series. These publications provided a more sustained format for addressing the intersection of scientific disciplines and Christian theology. The series formed part of BioLogos’s broader effort to produce accessible resources for churches, students, educators, and individual readers. The organization became particularly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic through sponsored livestream events. Some programming featured Francis Collins, who was then serving as NIH director, and addressed public-health and scientific issues in a context that also considered religious questions. Such events reflected BioLogos’s continuing effort to connect scientific expertise with Christian communication. BioLogos has received positive attention from supporters who believe that reducing conflict between science and religion benefits both religious communities and public culture. It has also faced criticism from young Earth creationists and other conservative Christian critics, who characterize evolutionary creation as a compromise with secular science or as inconsistent with biblical authority. BioLogos responds that it affirms core Christian doctrines and that acceptance of evolution need not entail abandoning Christianity. These disagreements remain part of the organization’s public identity and explain its role as an advocacy group rather than a neutral academic institution.

• 2025

  Kristine Torjesen becomes president

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  Kristine Torjesen became president in March 2025, succeeding Deborah Haarsma.

• 2020

  Pandemic livestream programming

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  BioLogos sponsored online events during the COVID-19 pandemic, including programming featuring Francis Collins and discussions connecting science, public health, and faith.

• 2016

  BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity begins

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation began publishing a series of books addressing scientific subjects and their relationship to Christian theology.

• 2013

  Deborah Haarsma becomes president

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  Deborah Haarsma succeeded Darrel R. Falk and led BioLogos for more than a decade.

• 2009

  Leadership transferred after Collins joins NIH

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  Collins left the presidency after becoming director of the National Institutes of Health, and Darrel R. Falk became president.

• 2007

  Foundation established

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  Francis Collins established BioLogos to provide a Christian public voice supporting dialogue between scientific discovery and religious belief.

• 2006

  Publication of The Language of God

  [1]BioLogosen.wikipedia.org

  Francis Collins published The Language of God, presenting theistic evolution or evolutionary creation as a Christian interpretation of modern science and stimulating public interest in the compatibility of science and faith.

A Christian educational and advocacy platform presenting evolutionary creation as a scientifically informed and theologically Christian account of creation, while encouraging dialogue between religious communities and the scientific world.

• Book series · 2016

  BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity

  A series published by BioLogos from 2016 through 2022. The books examine subjects at the intersection of scientific research, Christian theology, biblical interpretation, and public debates about the relationship between faith and science. The series expresses the organization’s view that scientific accounts and Christian belief can coexist rather than necessarily compete.

• Digital education

  BioLogos online educational resources

  Articles and other online materials explaining evolutionary creation and addressing questions about biology, human origins, cosmology, biblical interpretation, and Christian engagement with science. These resources are intended for Christians, educators, students, science-interested readers, and people evaluating claims that science and religion are inherently incompatible.

• Events and public engagement

  BioLogos public events and livestreams

  Lectures, conversations, and livestream programs that bring scientists, theologians, and public figures into discussion about science and Christian faith. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation used livestream programming to address scientific and public-health topics while retaining its broader faith-and-science focus.

• 2020Science, public health, and faith livestreams

  Online

  During the COVID-19 pandemic, BioLogos sponsored livestream events addressing scientific and public-health issues in conversation with religious questions and audiences.

  Outcome. The programming expanded the organization’s public engagement during a period of intense interest in scientific authority, health information, and religious interpretation.

  Source
• 2016BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity

  United States · English-language readers

  The foundation extended its educational work through a book series designed to explain how scientific knowledge and Christian theology can be discussed together.

  Outcome. The series ran through 2022 and became one of the organization’s principal long-form educational offerings.

  Source
• 2007Public voice for harmony between science and faith

  United States · Online international audience

  BioLogos was created to advocate publicly for the compatibility of Christian faith and scientific discovery, with particular emphasis on evolutionary creation.

  Outcome. The initiative developed into a continuing educational and advocacy organization with a broader audience than its initial Christian constituency.

  Source

• 2020

  Expand digital public engagement during the COVID-19 pandemicStrategy

  Background

  The pandemic created heightened public interest in scientific expertise, health information, and the relationship between religious communities and scientific institutions.

  Action taken

  BioLogos sponsored livestream events featuring scientific and faith-oriented discussions, including programming involving founder Francis Collins.

  Aftermath

  The organization maintained visibility through online programming and connected its science-and-faith mission with an urgent public-health context.

  Source

• 2016

  Launch the BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity seriesProduct launch

  Background

  The foundation sought to move beyond short-form advocacy and provide sustained treatments of science-and-faith questions.

  Action taken

  BioLogos began publishing a dedicated book series addressing scientific subjects and their relationship to Christian theology.

  Aftermath

  The series continued through 2022 and strengthened BioLogos’s role as a publisher of educational material in the science-and-religion field.

  Source

• 2007

  Adopt evolutionary creation as the central organizational positionStrategy

  Background

  BioLogos was founded amid public and Christian debates over evolution, young Earth creationism, intelligent design, and the perceived conflict between science and religion.

  Action taken

  The organization made evolutionary creation, or theistic evolution, its core commitment and built its public work around explaining how this position can coexist with Christian belief.

  Aftermath

  The position became the defining feature of the BioLogos identity and also the principal basis for criticism from young Earth creationist opponents.

  • Young Earth creationist organizations — Critics have portrayed BioLogos as compromising biblical authority by accepting evolutionary science.

  Source

1. 1BioLogosen.wikipedia.org
2. 2BioLogos Foundation websitebiologos.org