I mostly took the independent route until I lost my faith all together. What I found particularly striking as I studied evolution is that the arguments against, and even the 'independent' philosophy, have remained stagnant more or less since evolution was popularized. Evolution itself, however, has remained vibrant and is constantly being strengthened by new evidence and corrections. Learning more about evolution eventually led to the loss of my faith, but it was viewing it as an 'independent' area of study that allowed me to continue learning about it without feeling like I was hurting my spirituality... at least until it did.