Public Doubts Darwin, Evolution, Poll Finds

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000728154

As the press considers increasing its "faith-based" reporting, one thing journalists should keep in mind is that, contrary to most assumptions, large numbers of American remain wary of evolution and continue to see God's hand fully directing the origin of the species.

"Public acceptance of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is well below the 50% mark, a fact of considerable concern to many scientists," Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of The Gallup Poll, observed today. He noted that given three alternatives, only 35% say that evolution is well-supported by evidence. The same number say evolution is one of many theories and not well supported by evidence. Another 29% say they don't know enough about it to say.

Almost half of Americans (45%) believe that human beings "were created by God essentially as they are today (that is, without evolving) about 10,000 years ago," acccording to Gallup's poll.

[Sannum]

1. what the fuck is wrong with people?

:eyes::puke:

[The Zanti Regent]

This is what happens when the Nazi Party keeps the masses stupid!

You got to hand it to them for destroying education. Keep the masses stupid and ignorant, keep 'em watching TV Preachers and you can't go wrong...

[stopbush]

8. They're a little woozy from the blood letting therapy they're

taking to cure everything from the common cold to their daughter's gayness. Don't worry. I hear there's a new break through in medical science. It's called dunking. They dunk you in water, and if you don't drown, you're possessed by demons. Once the demons are exorcized - providing you're not a werewolf or a vampire in disguise - then you can stop the blood letting and you'll think a little clearer. Of course, that's about the time that Jeebus returns and kills all the Jews and non-believers...

[Elidor]

2. Next on Wolf Blitzer Reports: has the earth always been flat?

Or is it a recent development?

[NurseLefty]

3. Welcome to the New Dark Ages

Sadly, the masses follow like sheep, IN SPITE of having the access to the empirical.
I am firmly convinced that if this level of ignorance continues, the rapture will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:
WAKE UP, YA FUCKING IDIOTS!!!:

[marew]

4. Unbelievable!!!

Where are these people's heads? Must be up their butts. How dumb! Really, really scary. There is no way to even have an intelligent interaction with these people. We're doomed.

[Must_B_Free]

5. Error: does not take into account

that evolution and creationism are not exclusive ideas.

The real question that ought to have ben asked is "Do you belive that God is just like a man with 'magical powers'"?

THis gets a little better at the heart of the issue. WHat is left out is that people can believe in evolution and still believe that it was God's or a creators action.

[ilife]

11. right NOW they are

(on edit: mutually exclusive ideas, that is)

until someone comes up with some EVIDENCE, besides FAITH-BASED on a LINK between the 2.

'Almost half of Americans (45%) believe that human beings "were created by God essentially as they are today (that is, without evolving) about 10,000 years ago,"'

i think that answers your magical man with super powers question :evilgrin:

:hi:

[fujiyama]

6. That "almost half"

is probably Bush's core base. They are the ones set to create a theocratic fascist state here at home.

According to same poll, a THIRD of Americans are "Biblical literalists".

[Spider Jerusalem]

7. 45% of Americans are ignorant, superstitious fools, then.

[Lexingtonian]

9. now, let's be just a little considerate

The average age of adults in the U.S. is about 45. I can see how the older half- people schooled before circa 1975- very rarely got any good education in sciences, let alone the then-dubious little sister physical science of biology, in the first place. Why they should be expected to have particular trust in one tenet that they got at most a few hours of exposure to, and little convincing argument (let alone proof) of, is perhaps a better perspective on the politics of it. They've gotten far more affirmation of the Creationist bit over their lifetimes. These are people who spent most of their lives 'fighting Communism' but as a groups will have absolutely no idea about the contents of actual Marxism either. They really don't know very much as a group except real estate dealings, birth and mating, and what they get told in church/synagogue/work at lunch break. Whatever this survey claims, these people will largely agree to Creationism and be wary of Evolution as the socially conventional viewpoint- but most won't claim, when pressured, to be certain of either.

As for the younger half of the population, teaching Evolution for what it really is is strongly suppressed in subtle ways in public schools in 'the Heartland', i.e. Bible Belt. It's a perennial gripe among teachers of science and reason for a lot of biology teacher turnover in the South and Midwest. There is no meaningful negotiating possible in the parts of the country where Nature God paganism is the preferred way of misreading the Bible.

Yes, it's an abyssmal state of affairs. That's why they considered Bush good enough to run it....

[JAbuchan08]

10. Read this in a recent national geographic

As an athiest it offended me, but I'm pretty sure its not as bad as it sounds. It's the answer people give when they haven't thought about it much and don't really know what to say because they're uninformed, although; that could be called a crises in and of itself.