Jerry Allen Coyne (born December 30, 1949)[4][5] is an American biologist and skeptic known for his work on speciation and his commentary on intelligent design.

[citation needed] He considers evolutionary biology to be "... more like the fine arts of science, in that it's aesthetically quite satisfying, but it also happens to be true, which is an extra bonus.

[citation needed] He claims that religion and science are fundamentally incompatible, that only rational evaluation of evidence is capable of reliably discovering the world and the way it works, and that scientists who hold religious views are only reflective of the idea, "that people can hold two conflicting notions in their heads at the same time" (cognitive dissonance).

He has argued that the incompatibility of science and faith is based on irreconcilable differences in methodology, philosophy, and outcomes when they try to discern truths about the universe.

[30] On the blog, he has covered subjects spanning science, medical ethics, atheism, determinism, philosophy and free speech.

Coyne offers criticism of creationists who appear closed minded by adhering to a literal Biblical view.

He questions the creationist concept of animals diverging only within kinds, which is in itself an admission of transitional intermediates between very different groups (i.e., whales and their terrestrial relatives) found throughout the fossil record.

"[32] Coyne believes that both sides of such debates between evolutionists and young earth creationists could benefit from a better understanding of the fossil record and for modern tools such as Isochron dating.

He considers that the inability of creationists to address these subjects fully suggests that "religion can poison one's mind so deeply that it becomes immunized to the real truth about the cosmos.

He states that recognising there is no free will makes one more empathetic and less judgmental: "A lot of politics—particularly Republican politics—is based on the supposition that people are responsible for their own lives.

"[12] On December 29, 2024, Coyne resigned from the board of honorary members of the Freedom from Religion Foundation to object against what he considers the problematic gender-ideological capture of the institute after they deleted an article of his, calling its publication a mistake.

[34] According to an article in The Chicago Maroon, Coyne retired in 2015 and continues to pursue publishing and work in his lab at the university.

[12] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Coyne requested permission to access the University of Chicago's Botany Pond to feed a female duck and her ducklings in the event of a campus lockdown; he had named the mother Honey, and fed the group until they migrated.