PORTSMOUTH — Dr. Keith Miller, paleontologist at Kansas State University, science education advocate and devout Christian, has been involved in promoting quality science education and science literacy.

He will be presenting “Darwin’s Forgotten Defenders: Then and Now” at Shawnee State University at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the Main Theater of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.

One hundred and fifty tears ago, Charles Darwin revolutionized biology with the publication of “The Origin of Species” and the theory that all life on Earth shared common ancestors and had evolved through natural selection, immediately embraced by the scientific community.

“Outside the scientific community, many misconceptions about evolution emerged and have persisted, the greatest among them being that science and religion are contradictory and that to accept evolution, one must turn one’s back on one’s faith,” said Dr. Kurt Shoemaker, associate professor of geology.

“It is often overlooked that some of Darwin’s earliest defenders came not from the scientific community, but from the evangelical Christian community — and evangelical Christians continue to defend Darwin today.”

As a Christian, Miller has written on the synthesis of science and faith, contributing to and editing the volume “Perspectives on an evolving Creation.”

In his presentation, he demonstrates the perspectives of both science and religion and why he believes that science and faith are not only non-contradictory but also compatible and complementary.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call Shoemaker at (740) 351-3395 or e-mail kshoemaker@shawnee.edu.