AAAS science and religion program profiles Dr. Raven Baxter on what science can learn from church

The Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science published a profile of Dr. Raven Baxter on June 18, 2025. The written Q&A ran in the program's Profiles in Science Engagement with Faith Communities series.

Her central argument was that science can learn from church. "There's so much the science community can learn from a good church community," Baxter said. She described her own church as "a come-as-you-are type situation."

"I want to make it like a church, to be honest, where nobody is ever turned away," she said. "Even if they don't believe the same thing I do, I don't have to make them leave or convince them to be like me so they can stay."

The profile ran as trust in science was still recovering. In November 2024, Pew Research Center reported that 76% of U.S. adults trusted scientists to act in the public's best interests, still below pre-pandemic levels. In February 2025, Pew's Religious Landscape Study found that 62% of U.S. adults identify as Christian, a share relatively stable since 2019. A West Texas measles outbreak, then in its fifth month, reached 762 cases before Texas declared it over in August 2025. Two unvaccinated school-age children died.

Baxter told DoSER that answering misinformation starts with respect. "Combating misinformation is really about being respectful," she said. "Seeing somebody as human and not some villain, and having a respectful conversation about who they are, who you are, what people believe, and where they got the information."

It also takes patience. "Combating misinformation is not done in one step, or even one conversation," she said. "It is an investment of time, because you have to build community and trust."

She traced her approach to her science education Ph.D., where she learned about "different ways of knowing." As a model, she pointed to the COVID Vaccine Equity and Education Project. The group suggests other ways for people who decline the vaccine to keep themselves and their communities safe.

Raised Catholic, Baxter said a high school reading of John Polkinghorne's "Quantum Physics and Theology" shaped her view of faith and discovery. "My journey in pursuit of discovery strengthens both my faith and my ability to do science," she said.

Baxter in a still from her 2019 music video Big Ole Geeks, one of the images in the DoSER profile. Image: Big Ole Geeks music video

She described her path from drug discovery to science education, then to music with "Big Ole Geeks." In 2020, a church played one of her music videos during a service to encourage members to take pandemic precautions. "That was my first signal that my science communication can exist in faith spaces," she said.

AAAS, founded in 1848 and publisher of the Science journals, established DoSER in 1995 to support communication between scientific and religious communities. The profile series dates to 2020 and includes about two dozen scientists and science communicators, among them Brother Guy Consolmagno, S.J., of the Vatican Observatory.

Baxter, in a pink beekeeping suit, in a still from her Nerdy Jobs series. Image: Nerdy Jobs trailer

Baxter, a molecular biologist, has shared science on social media as Dr. Raven the Science Maven since 2016. Her Ph.D. research at the University at Buffalo focused on culturally responsive science communication.

The full profile and the series are on DoSER's website.