What better time to mark the recent 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth than during a time like this, when detractors are drawing a bead on him.

“We’re very much in favor of his theory of evolution,” said Rev. Elizabeth “Kit” Ketcham of Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island.

“It’s a hot topic in a lot of churches, but not in ours,” Ketcham said.

In an effort to inject more “hard science” into the South Whidbey conversation, the Unitarians will offer a program about Darwin and his theories tonight at the church.

The program, presented by retired anthropologist Mary K. Sandford of Langley, will focus on the English scientist’s early years, and the development of his philosophy.

The free program will be from 7 to 9 p.m. in the church sanctuary. The church is at 20103 Highway 525, about two miles north of Freeland.

“He may have been the very greatest scientist who ever lived,” Sandford said of Darwin. “His theories are the foundation for modern biology and other life sciences.”

Sandford plans to talk about Darwin’s famous 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species,” a blueprint for a theory of evolution by natural selection, what Darwin called “this view of life.”

She also plans “to tell people some things about Darwin they didn’t know.” For example, that he had an insect collection begun in childhood; that as boys, he and his brother did chemistry experiments; that he went to medical school in his teens, and completed a theological degree from Cambridge University in England, but upon graduation forsook the church to sail on the HMS Beagle.

Darwin’s observations during that famous voyage set the course of his scientific career, Sandford said.

She also plans to talk about how Darwin’s theories relate to her own life.

Sandford said she was raised in Arkansas, where it was illegal to teach evolutionary theory in schools until 1968.

But at home, she said she was encouraged by her parents to think broadly about the world. Her father was a minister, but also an educator.

Sandford’s youthful scientific curiosity led to a career as an anthropologist and educator, mostly in North Carolina.

She moved to Whidbey Island after retiring about three years ago. Her great-great-grandfather had once settled in the Northwest, she said.

“It’s important to use every opportunity we can to talk about science,” Sanford said. “There’s still a lot of misunderstanding about what it is and isn’t.

“Talking about evolution gives us the chance to learn about the world in which we live,” she continued. “Without the knowledge of science, we as a species are doomed.”

Sandford said that opponents of Darwin’s theories “have been vocal for a very long time,” but that they appear these days to be a little more vocal than usual.

She said the distressing economy and other contemporary pressures might be part of the reason.

“There are a lot of people who benefit from spreading misinformation,” Sandford said. “When people get afraid, they tend to become victims of scare tactics.”

Ketcham said her congregation hopes to build on tonight’s program to offer more scientific sessions at the church.

She envisions an ongoing symposium on science and the spirit, featuring topics such as bioethics, medical technology, physics, philosophy and healing and cures.

“I’m concerned about the anti-science, anti-education, anti-intellectual mood that seems to preoccupy a lot of people in the country,” Ketcham said.

“We want to help people to understand the scientific process,” she added. “There’s so much anti-stuff these days about things that are really truthful.”

For more information, call the church at 321-8656, or e-mail Ketcham at kitketcham@comcast.net.