Theos wanted to use Darwin’s bicentennial year to create widespread awareness for new research which shows that believing in evolution can be consistent with belief in God – and that Darwin is not the atheists’ “rottweiler”.
Cultural commentators and opinion formers were at the heart of the campaign, and the internet a key medium to foment the discussion. Strategic editorial was placed in key national media and an actor posing as Darwin ran vox pops outside Westminster Abbey.
Bloggers picked up the trail, as anticipated, for example posting more than 600 comments on the original Guardian online article, then more when the story was picked up on Comment Is Free.
The Press Association and Telegraph TV made a video of “Darwin” quizzing tourists at Westminster, which MSN selected as an editor’s pick. The video spread across the internet, leading to posts about Theos’s research on many other national sites.
We used regional statistics to draw up an interactive “belief map of the UK” and fashioned a news story for local newspapers across the UK.
“Our aim is to get people asking questions and wanting better answers about how evolution sits with religion – online is ideal because it is increasingly the first port of call for any research”
- Paul Woolley, Director, Theos
