Q’s from the Pews: Does belief in evolution contradict creation? November 2, 2025

Genesis describes the creation of the world as occurring over seven days. The Hebrew word yom, translated as “day,” can refer to a 24-hour period or a longer, indefinite span of time—such as an epoch. For example, “the day of mankind” refers to the era during which humanity exists. Literary analysis also reveals that Genesis is written in a mythological genre, intended to convey profound truths through symbolic language.

The Church encourages interpreting Scripture through both its Literal and Spiritual senses. The Literal sense includes understanding the meaning of words, their context, and the literary genre. If yom is understood as an unspecified period, then the narrative of creation aligns well with scientific understanding. The universe begins as a “formless void” and, through divine power, gradually evolves. Eventually, life—guided and initiated by God—develops into a creature (a hominid) capable of receiving the breath of God.

This is where Genesis transitions into the Spiritual sense. The creature “formed from the dust of the earth” (evolved) is transformed by God, who breathes His life into it, creating the first true Man and Woman. Though biologically related to other hominids, Adam and Eve are no longer merely hominids. The soul breathed into them makes them “sons of God.”

Genesis also shows that God created the universe in stages, not instantaneously. Therefore, the Church rejects the idea of instantaneous creation. It also rejects atheistic evolution, which attributes creation solely to random natural forces. Instead, the Church embraces theistic evolution—the belief that God directs the process of creation. This divine guidance is most evident in the gift of the soul to Adam and Eve, our true first parents.