We use cookies to make your experience better. To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies. Learn more.
Religion and GM Technology
In this extract from Has Science Killed God? Professor John Bryant discusses GM technology and the religious attitudes towards this topic.
General Ethical Issues by John Bryant
In the early days of GM technology, there was surprisingly little debate about ethical issues. There were no professional ethicists at the Asilomar conference (although some lawyers were present). Moral philosophy did not enter the discussions and the possibility of intrinsic objections to GM was barely raised. It was thus more or less inevitable that the basis for ethical discussion was consequentialism, with safety being the overriding concern. The focus was on how the technology should be used rather than whether it should be used at all.
In respect of religious engagement with this topic, it is often assumed that religions in general will be opposed to GM technology, but this is not so. The situation is far more complex. Religious attitudes to GM are also mainly concerned with what is done with the technology rather than whether it should be done. Some applications of GM have had strong support from religious people, especially those within the Judaeo-Christian tradition, as being a positive use of humankind’s God-given talents for the well-being of others. The topic of GM provides a very good example of the interplay between science, technology and religion in an arena about which the relevant scriptures have nothing specific to say.
However, there have been some opposing voices. There are people, often from pagan, neopagan or pantheist positions, who have intrinsic objections to the whole idea of moving genes. Within the Christian religion, there is a small minority who suggest that moving genes from one organism to another offends against the concept of God’s creation of ‘kinds’ (Genesis 1). In the view of the present writer, this suggestion is untenable. The discoveries of microorganisms and of genes occurred centuries after the writing of the books of the Bible; such topics lay completely outside the knowledge of the biblical writers. Furthermore, it is difficult to relate the Genesis understanding of ‘kinds’ to our modern view of what species are. Species are not fixed and some are very ‘blurred at the edges’: in fact, biologists have trouble coming up with a watertight definition of the word. This is especially true of bacteria, many of which indulge in gene swapping, leading to rapid genetic evolution.
The absence of specific prohibitions in the various scriptures, however, does not necessarily mean that all is allowed. It is in such situations that the application of general principles becomes important. In both the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Qur’an, there is the ongoing theme that God is the Creator and sustainer of the universe. Furthermore, he has given humans a particular place in it; we have the ability to use the natural world, the curiosity to find out more about it and the ingenuity and inventiveness to put that knowledge to use. However, we must use these gifts as good stewards of God’s world, so safety and risk will be as much concerns for scientists of Jewish or Christian faiths as for non- religious scientists. Would an appropriately informed and qualified group of Christians or religious Jews have come up with different conclusions from those reached at Asilomar? Almost certainly not. However, there may be specific religious concerns about some applications of GM technology and it is to those that we now turn.
The Faraday Papers provide the general reader with accessible and readable introductions to the relationship between science and religion, written by a broad range of authors who are expert in the field. They are intended to be read by those without a scientific background. Here they are collected for the first time into a single volume. Buy now >>
