Two centuries after Charles Darwin's birth, the argument he started over evolution is going strong -- perhaps even stronger as more churches join the fray.

Nearly two dozen Minnesota congregations are supporting Darwin's case as part of Evolution Weekend, a mobilization effort involving 984 congregations nationwide. Events surround his birthday, Feb. 12.

Members of First Universalist Church in Minneapolis held a birthday party for him. At Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul, Rabbi Adam Spilker will devote Friday's sermon to "the intersections of religion and science." At Southcross Community Church in Burnsville on Sunday, the Rev. Casey VanderBert will pose the question: Do believers have to choose between science and religion? (Sorry-- we promised not to give away the answer.)

Not to be left out, the Minnesota Atheists are holding a panel discussion at 2 p.m. Sunday at Rondo Library in St. Paul.

Don't expect the debate to end any time soon, said David Rhees, executive director of the Bakken Museum.

"I don't know if we're ever going to be finished with this evolution business," he predicted at the "Darwin Day" conference sponsored by First Universalist Church.

"There's still a lot of work to be done grappling with the questions: What does evolution mean to us as individuals? What does it mean to us as a society? And what does it mean to our concept of God?"

Evolutionists 'upped the ante'

Evolution supporters "have become more assertive" after years of battling over the teaching of evolution vs. the Bible's version of creation, said David Masci, a senior research fellow at the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. "They've upped the ante."