Evolution and the need for a God

Did you know that two people independently arrived at the basic assumptions of evolution? Charles Darwin, of course, but also Alfred Russel Wallace. As told in one of my favorite books, The Discoverers by former Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstein, Darwin started writing about his theory in the 1840s. But... being meticulous, Darwin spent over a decade preparing his work for publication, showing it to few others. During this time, Wallace figured out much the same ideas on his own. In 1858 he sent his essay on the topic to Darwin, which prompted Darwin to publish his work at the same time as Wallace.

Here's an interesting aspect of the story regarding religion. While Darwin turned from religion in light of his views on of evolution, Wallace turned toward it. According to Boorstein (p.472), Walace "needed a God to explain what he saw in nature."

To be clear, Wallace wasn't a Christian (I don't think so, anyway), but his need to posit a creator in view of nature is a nice counterbalance to Darwin's need to posit no creator based on the same evidence. Wallace's views illustrate that the theory of evolution (as is much of science) is religiously-neutral, neither inherently opposed to or in support of religious belief.