Breakdown: Who Believes in Evolution and Who Doesn't?
Offline I agreed that it's not enough to say that 39% of Americans believe in Evolution. So, I searched for more data. Thank Pew, there's more data to be had:
In a statement that's disturbingly close to confirmation of that 39% number, the researchers had this to say:
Recent public opinion polls indicate that challenges to Darwinian evolution have substantial support among the American people. According to an August 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 63 percent of Americans believe that humans and other animals have either always existed in their present form or have evolved over time under the guidance of a supreme being. Only 26 percent say that life evolved solely through processes such as natural selection. A similar Pew Research Center poll, released in August 2005, found that 64 percent of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in the classroom.
Here's a LINK to the full Pew Report
Oh, and just for shits and giggles, here's something straight from the Baptists:
Resolution On Scientific CreationismJune 1982
WHEREAS, The theory of evolution has never been proven to be a scientific fact, and
WHEREAS, Public school students are now being indoctrinated in evolution-science, and
WHEREAS, Creation-science can be presented solely in terms of scientific evidence without any religious doctrines or concepts, and
WHEREAS, Public school students should be taught all the scientific evidence on the subject of the origin of the world and life, and
WHEREAS, Academic freedom and free speech should be encouraged rather than inhibited.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Southern Baptist Convention in session in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 1982, express our support for the teaching of Scientific Creationism in our public schools.
On the other hand, there's contradictory evidence to be had:
If you want to do some more math, here are some figures to get you started:
According to the CIA,[6] the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States:
Total U.S. Population: 309,162,581 (projected 2010)
So, by my calculations, next year, the Protestant population will be 51.3% of 78.5% of 309,000,000 (for round numbers). That's 12,435,845.
76% of that (the percentage of protestants who don't believe in evolution) is 94,571,242. That's 31% of the U.S. population.
Add 42% of catholics and you get another 24,348,674, bringing our total to 118,919916, or 38% of the population.
* I realize I didn't factor in the difference between protestant and evangelical protestant. I'm not trying to give an exact number. I'm just trying to prove a point.
So, from a Pew Study of over 2000 individuals, we can say that around 40% of the population doesn't believe in evolution, while a study of over 1000 individuals estimates that 39% of the population does believe in evolution. To my eyes, that's a pretty damn big margin of error. I haven't dug much deeper than a cursory glance, but my first best guess is that the way the questions were worded had a lot to do with the huge difference of opinion. If you ask a thousand protestants if evolution and NOT God is the reason for our existence, you're going to get almost 100% disagreement with evolution. However, if you ask the same thousand people if evolution could have had a place in God's plan you're going to get a lot more support.
Anyway, that's all the effort I feel like putting into this, so have at it.
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Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
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A scientific theory is not something you believe in or do not. This is the wrong dichotomy to consider. It is something you understand or you don't. I think it would be much more enlightening to do a survey in which the researchers asked the sample what they understood of the theory of evolution.
"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.
-Me
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I was just about to say the same thing.
I think a large percentage of the people are confusing abiogenesis and evolution. It would be an interesting survey to see if they understoood the difference and I think that would change these graphs if they did understand the difference.
People who think there is something they refer to as god don't ask enough questions.
I don't think my faith in humanity could hold up under the weight of that survey. In all seriousness, I don't think I understand evolution well enough to be a spokesman for it, and yet I continually discover that I know far more about it than anyone around me.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
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Apperently 51% thought humans evolved
Also, the "total" column seems to add to 94% for some reason
One more thing:
When somebody releases a survey that says X% of Americans are Z, they should be shot
The title shoud be: X% of Americans THAT RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY are Z.
sheesh/
Where did you pull that data from, Alison?
O rly?
So why do none of the myths fabricating said deity agree with this notion?
- Leon Trotsky, Last Will & Testament
February 27, 1940
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=153#3
It's a few clicks away from the link Hamby gave.
Try doing a survey on whether people think the Earth or the Sun is the centre of the solar system. I would suggest that you would get barely 50% of the population getting it right (ie blind luck).
I've now come to the conlusion that people don't believe/not believe in evolution on the basis of religion but something far more fundamental whether they are thick or not?
I hate it when anyone, theist or atheist uses the word "believe
" in reference to evolution.
Saying "I believe in evolution" is like saying, "I believe in gravity".
Neither are dependent on credulity, they exist whether we accept it or not.
The Ray Comforts of the world can shout "THE EARTH IS FLAT" all they want, but they are dead wrong and will always be wrong. Any idiot who has seen a domestic cat and seen a lion at a zoo or on TV can see the evidence of evolution. ONLY a delusional moron will deny the FACT of evolutional theory.
Your fairy tale is no more an explination for reality than Harry Potter flying around on a broom explains modern aviation. Wake up theists, quit making up crap! Quit pretending that your fantacy is real. Reality is much more fulliling.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
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You guys took all the fun out of my response.
I'll just acknowledge my knowledge of evolution then.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
The problem is this is the same with everything.
Alex Jones cites one survey where over 50% of the respondants thought the U.S government orcheastrated 9/11.
I don't think asking for an "understanding evolution" would clear things up, I don't understand evolution, I probably couldn't answer certain questions about it.
But then again, I'm actually honest, if you asked the same question to Ray Comfort he would have said "yes", just like a 9/11 conspiracy nut will say they have an understanding of structural engineering.
Humans don't like admitting they're wrong. Outright dismissing something would require knowledge of it and they aren't going to admit their ignorance.
In contrast 59% of the surveyed Canadians accept evolution only 22% rejected it the rest weren't sure, and Canada is 17% non-religious compared to the U.S 15% which is rather close.
We pretty much mirror the U.S in terms of religion yet beat you guys out in science quality of life etc.... I think the only thing U.S has over Canada is grammar.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/16178
The US doesn't have better grammar. They can't even spell for crying out loud.
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Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Well it really depends how representative the sample is of the greater population. Your never going to get a pure mu for any given population, sure, but a well randomised sample is still meaningfully representative. If the study concludes for a population it is implied that it has been conducted with care from the outset to ensure the data covers population variations. You should check the description of the sampling process to convince your self if that's true or not.
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Here is something interesting. Even though church attendance in the UK is normally in the single digits, only half of Britons hold to evolution.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/feb/01/evolution-darwin-survey-creationism
"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." (CS Lewis)
"A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading." (CS Lewis)
Why do Christians refuse to accept that we're monkeys, yet proudly proclaim themselves as sheep?