According to a CBS poll, anyway. Seems 55% of those surveyed think God created humans in their present form without any evolution and another 27% think that humans did evolve, but God guided the process to arrive at the obvious pinnacle of His creation. Only 13% think God had nothing to do with it at all. An incredible 45% of Bush voters would replace teaching of evolution in schools with creationism outright! A mind-boggling 24% of Kerry voters agree with them. That figure jumps to 60% if only evangelists are asked.
"Support for evolution is more heavily concentrated among those with more education..."
Now that I have reported the bare facts of this poll, what can I say without tossing my fondly held preferences for reasoned words and logical debate out of the window?
Perhaps I could point out to those who insist that evolution is "only a theory" that all science is made up of theories which run a spectrum from the Theory of Gravity (We can't see the forces that actually make it work, but we can see the effecets at all stages, can do maths that predict the effects and the notions about what makes it work connect well with the rest of science) through to the Theory of Alien Life (we can't see it or it's effects but the math says it's likely so it's a good working supposition until more evidence comes along) and that evolution is closer to the former than the latter. Or that just because its a "theory" in science doesn't mean it isn't true - it's just that scientists admit there is always a chance of being wrong, however microscopic that chance is.
Perhaps I could talk about Occam's Razor (the likeliest explanation is probably the true one)and how Creationism requires it's advocates to resolve conflicts with radio-carbon dating, geology, fossil finds, observed evolution in other animals,and a whole host of other good science.
I could even point out that the existence of God is itself, strictly speaking, only a theory. One backed up by very little repeatable evidence, mathematics, direct observation by impartial, trained observers or even any good connections to the rest of human knowledge. By this standard, Creationism is a much poorer theory than evolution.
None of this will make any difference to those who believe but I assure you of one thing: I don't know whether to laugh or cry and I am not alone in this.
5 comments:
I don't usually believe too much in polls but if even half these figures are correct then America is in trouble.
But we know that already.
I guess the people in America choose to be fooled by the Government and authorities because if they wanted to think for themselves and find the truth it ain't that hard to find.
With America's debts piling up and the killing of Muslims throughout the world appearing to be a priority, how long before fundamentalism takes over the country and it will be illegal not to attend church.
shadows
You are probably right, Shadows. Seems to me like the American Christian version of the Taliban is gaining strength all the time.
Regards, C
Organized religion, quite unfortunately, has been holding back social evolution, causing wars and retarding science since recorded history began. Belief in a deity is one thing, following the notions of an organized religion is another.
Those that subscribe to creationism as the sole arbiter of humanity's progress due to their subservience to an organized religion, will enivitably face their ignorance of the possibilities from their dirt covered holes.
Just my little diatribe
Cheers!
Pez
Hi Pez,
I am not going to disagree with you - but see my post for today (2nd December) for my views on religious tolerance.
Regards, C+
I personally trust CBS as far as I can throw them. Notice that they do not tell us the actual questions that were asked, just the summary. I'm sorry, but I think the questions had to be biased. Also, asking the number of people they did is a real cop out. It means they had a time limit on the data gathering process, and therefore only spoke to people most likely to answer a CBS poll.
Yes, I do this for a living...
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