Nearly half of the public rejects the theory of evolution
Why do you think so many Americans reject evolution?
MSN- A belief in God and an identification with an organized religion are widespread throughout the country, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. Nine in 10 (91 percent) of American adults say they believe in God and almost as many (87 percent) say they identify with a specific religion. Christians far outnumber members of any other faith in the country, with 82 percent of the poll’s respondents identifying themselves as such. Another 5 percent say they follow a non-Christian faith, such as Judaism or Islam. Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution; one-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact. Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years; 39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view.
March 31st, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Because our education system doesn’t even rank in the top 10 worldwide.
That - and the Republican Party has given idiots like James Inhofe free reign, and have killed science to appease Radical Jesus.
March 31st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
They reject evolution because they are intellectually unevolved.
March 31st, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I agree with both of the above. Americans are idiots.
One of my students the other day was telling me about a presentation on evolution given by a different student in a different class. After 30 seconds it dawned on me that this student had no respect whatsoever for the science behind the theory of evolution.
I’m not kidding… this student asked me… “have you ever seen a monkey turn into a human?” He also informed me that glaciers could carve out the grand canyon in seconds given the right circumstances. There were other insights that he blessed me with as well.
I’m teaching an upper division technology-related college course.
At least now I know who to thank for the packet-switched networks that have enabled the incredible growth of the Internet. Thanks God! Now if you could just give me a faster more reliable connection in my remote neighborhood I might consider kneeling down before your greatness.
April 1st, 2007 at 7:39 am
These people have probably been told that they are going to burn in hell if they believe in evolution. And if you don’t believe in evolution (for any animal) then you probably don’t believe in “survival of the fittest” which is a basic tenet of conservatism. (real conservatism)
April 1st, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Survival of the fittest?
Law of the jungle?
Bill,
No random events?
If no random events, then no self-determination.
B/C all events are predetermined.
Pretty much right out of Calvinism.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:16 am
Captain Menace:
What do you teach and to whom do you teach?
BTW - You better be glad that I wasn’t that student… it would have been a much different story.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 am
Rob,
Welcome back from conservative purgatory.
MD
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:10 am
The class is a telecommunications class. It’s targeted towards router jockeys who generally don’t have a lot of knowledge of the PSTN. The class focuses on voice/data convergence, and the protocols involved. I’d rather not get too specific.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:28 am
captain_menace:
ooops, somehow, I missed this part:
given by a different student in a different class
I was thinking that the evolution presentation was in your class. My bad.
Did you ever get a chance to see this (very long, but very interesting stuff)
I’d be interested if you had anything to add to that thread?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
My concern is about methodology Rob. It is a cornerstone to scientific endeavor.
Religion has no methodology that isn’t based in faith.
The only thing I truly believe in is the power of belief. For good or for ill human beings are able to make themselves believe in just about anything. Myself included.
Sometimes the brain takes control all by itself and causes an individual to believe in super-extraordinary things (we call this schizophrenia).
Back to my concern. My concern is that a blind belief in a “God” may stymie scientific pursuit, which is proven to lead to longer and healthier lives, cleaner burning fuels, telecommunications, etc.
You may believe that God enabled all of this to happen, but your belief that God is responsible does not help to make these advancements possible. A look at history demonstrates the exact opposite.
As for your link, I read a lot, but not all of it. I take issue with you claiming that there is more evidence for the story of creation than there is for evolution. I “believe” this is a false statement.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:10 pm
‘ “survival of the fittest” which is a basic tenet of conservatism. (real conservatism)’
Don’t forget that it was a critical piece of Hitler’s master plan.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
idiots like James
Hey you don’t know if I support the theory of evolution or not!
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Captain
Hitler was a dictator. He wasn’t a conservative. Maybe he should have taken a more “hands off” approach to the economy. But instead he wanted to be famous. So now there’s no mistaking him for Charlie Chaplan who was a comedian with a similar mustache.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 pm
James,
Next time they call me an idiot, I’ll remind them that you and I share some genes and a Bible.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:41 pm
http://gfx.dagbladet.no/kultur/2002/11/22/chaplin_sak.jpg
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Those poll numbers are easy to explain. They should pair these polls with polls that determine how many people have a true understanding of the science behind evolution, or how many people use television to educate themselves. I mean honestly, where does the average American get their information regarding something like evolution? They hear news reports, in the media, on the History Channel, whatever. They don’t know the science and they receive skewed, biased, and grossly incomplete arguments of the issue with little insight into the science of it.
Our schools are to blame. Education in this country is pathetic. It’s become big business, and that is just a crime. Schools do whatever they can to raise test scores, so they can get more funding from the government. We need to stop letting the states decide what our kids need to be learning, and start taking a better look at how our educational system is structured. It’s a huge problem and it’s killing us. Our citizens are getting dumber by the day.