Majority of Republicans (and frequent church attenders) Doubt Theory of Evolution

[jefferson_dem]

June 11, 2007
Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution
More Americans accept theory of creationism than evolution
by Frank Newport

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true and do not believe that humans evolved over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. This suggests that when three Republican presidential candidates at a May debate stated they did not believe in evolution, they were generally in sync with the bulk of the rank-and-file Republicans whose nomination they are seeking to obtain.

Independents and Democrats are more likely than Republicans to believe in the theory of evolution. But even among non-Republicans there appears to be a significant minority who doubt that evolution adequately explains where humans came from.

The data from several recent Gallup studies suggest that Americans' religious behavior is highly correlated with beliefs about evolution. Those who attend church frequently are much less likely to believe in evolution than are those who seldom or never attend. That Republicans tend to be frequent churchgoers helps explain their doubts about evolution.

<SNIP>

The graph shows the relationship between church attendance and response to the straightforward question of belief in evolution.



The group of Americans who attend church weekly -- about 40% in this sample -- are strongly likely to reject the theory of evolution. The group of Americans who attend church seldom or never -- also about 40% -- have the mirror image opinion and are strongly likely to accept the theory of evolution.

<SNIP>

It appears that these candidates are, in some ways, "preaching to the choir" in terms of addressing their own party's constituents -- the group that matters when it comes to the GOP primaries. Republicans are much more likely to be religious and attend church than independents or Democrats in general. Therefore, it comes as no great surprise to find that Republicans are also significantly more likely not to believe in evolution than are independents and Democrats.



<SNIP>

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=27847

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. That explains a lot.

[SledDriver]

2. People are fucking stupid.

n/t

[BurtWorm]

3. Even forty percent of Democrats are fucking stupid.

:wtf:

[wtmusic]

6. I heard global warming is all about politics.

- heard at wtmusic's weekend get-together.

To which I responded, "I thought so too...until my man Newt Gingrich said it was real..."

*sweet silence*

[porphyrian]

11. That was my first thought. - n/t

[unpossibles]

14. especially when you see how many had conflicting answers

Belief in the idea that humans were created pretty much as is 10,000 years ago is somewhat more dependent on the way in which this concept is measured. A little more than 4 out of 10 Americans -- when presented with three alternatives -- say they believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago. At the same time, two-thirds of Americans in a stand-alone question say they believe in the theory of "creationism" -- defined as the idea that humans were created in their present form 10,000 years ago.

It might seem contradictory to believe that humans were created in their present form at one time within the past 10,000 years and at the same time believe that humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life. But, based on an analysis of the two side-by-side questions asked this month about evolution and creationism, it appears that a substantial number of Americans hold these conflicting views.

This is obviously an education problem, not only in the shortcomings of people understanding evolution and how it works (as evidenced by so many people thinking it's based on "chance") as well as people understanding the freaking questions in this poll apparently. Add to that the basic ignorance of what the First Amendment says and means, and the concerted effort to further the problem, and you have one pissed off Unpossibles.

It's shameful, in my opinion. The same right that allows people to believe in fairy tales allows me to call it as I see it: fucking ignorant.

[BulletproofLandshark]

4. That, in a nutshell, explains why civilization is regressing.

Some people will fall for anything. Some out of ignorance, and some who are just too afraid to think for themselves.

[napi21]

5. When I was a little girl in catholic grade school we discussed this

in religion class on several occassions. WE were taught that the theory of evolution and that of creationism are NOT mutually exclusive. Of course they taught that God created the world and everything in it, but there is NOTHING that proves what the first man & woman was like. Tey very well could have looked and acted exactly like we see an ape looks today, and the human species evolved into what we now call man & woman humans.

That was more than 50+ years ago, but I've never forgotten it. I always wonder why so many people still argue that you can only believe in one theory or the other?

[LibDemAlways]

22. I once heard a priest explain it very simply:

We must turn to science for the "how" and to religious belief, if we have it, for the "who."

[northzax]

7. hey, I don't believe in evolution

just like I don't believe in Gravity. belief is reserved for things that can't be proven or demonstrated. evolution, gravity, nuclear physics, these are not matters for belief, they simply are.

[wtmusic]

9. So you don't believe in believing?

Unfortunately most don't share your belief, and they can still vote

[northzax]

15. well, there are certainly things I believe in

but not things that can be proven. think of it this way. if I drop a piano on your head from ten stories up, do you believe that you will be crushed? or does experience basically lead you to KNOW you will be crushed? that's the difference.

stop using the word 'belief' it is unreasonable and doesn't make any sense. I don't 'believe' the sky is blue, it is by definition until someone proves differently. I don't 'believe' the earth travels around the sun, it simply does, whether or not I 'believe' in it. you can neither prove nor disprove belief, that's the whole point.

once someone conclusively proves that there is a God, there is no longer any need to believe in God. until then, belief is all there is.

[EstimatedProphet]

12. Exactly. You 'believe' in God, you 'accept' Evolution.

The words used in the discussion have lost their meaning and are confused.

[november3rd]

8. Left Behind

It's a hot topic today, treated in this Media Matters report.

As we're discovering, there are two types of American voters.

First, there are those who get all their information from television or media and tend to gravitate to those outlets that validate their personal/cultural preconceptions, ie: we're better than other countries because we're Christian, believe in 'freedom', work harder, have competition, stand for higher values, etc...

These are people with arrested cognitive-affective development. They seek to assimilate only the new information that fortifies--without revising--their world view. These are the fundamentalists, too. They want to buy a complete mental package--free of personal risk or ambiguity.

Reason is irrelevant to these "true believers."

Second, there are people who seek to expand their sense of reality by seeking the truth. Regardless of how demanding seemingly inconsistent information can be, ie, those dinosaur bones are millions of years old, those two different objects fall at exactly the same rate when dropped from the same height, a zygote is not a human, homosexual orientation is not a choice, these people try to assimilate facts by expanding their world view, not by disregarding the facts.

It's called inductive reasoning, and its the foundation of elightenment, scientific method, human progress.

As St. Paul put it, "Be not conformed to this world (and the controlling powers here) but be transformed by the renewal your minds."

What he meant was that conservative (fixed, unchanging views) are only going to lock people into ignorance and sin, whereas liberality (freedom of thought and honesty of judgment) will open us all to the possibility of positive change and growth toward Godliness.

The more the media regurgitate their narrow lines of thought and belief, the more constricted their adherents' minds, and the more vehement their opponents' rejection of them.

[EstimatedProphet]

10. Creationism is not a theory

And it is precisely things like this article that are causing the problem we face. this article implies that Creationism and Evolution are supposed to be on some kind of equal footing, where people can make a logical informed choice between the two. We know that's not true.

[wtmusic]

13. If enough people say it's a theory does that make it one?

The bigger problem is the assault on scientific method itself.

[EstimatedProphet]

17. I agree, the scientific method is the true target

[ComerPerro]

16. This poll could have been conducted in a push poll sort of manner

that is, they could have asked people whether they "blindly believe in evolution", or "like to keep an open mind". That alone would generate extra "don't believe" responses.

Point is, just like Gore said in "Inconvenient Truth" about Global warming, evolution deniers only really have to create enough doubt.

[HereSince1628]

18. I'm not so sure _H. sapiens_is actually really "advanced."

This whole notion of humans _uber alles_ seems pretty bloody stupid to me.

And I'm not sure that humans are really the most advanced species in our own Family tree. Of course, I mean in an evolutionary sense based on morphology. I'm not so sure that we are the most apomorphic of the great apes, and I'm not sure we are the most apomorphic of the Hominidae.

Moreover proposing notions of cross-phyletic "advancement" between disparate groups is mostly pretty friggin stupid. There are a shitload of Coleoptera and Diptera that are extraordinarily specialized, reflecting many many apomorphies and "advanced" evolution. Just because they are insects doesn't mean in any way that they aren't highly evolved.

This crap about humans as the pinnacle of evolution is just species-ist (i.e. interspecies xenophobia).

[Solon]

23. Actually, evolution doesn't really concern itself with advancement...

just changes over time, that allow species to adapt to changing environments. Human Beings aren't the pinnacle of anything, we are just highly adaptable, no more, no less. That is the only reason why we dominate the planet right now compared to vertebrate species. If, for some reason, whether human or nature caused, we become extinct, some other species may take our place on the adaptability ladder.

[HereSince1628]

27. True, although evolution really does concern itself with apomorphies

(charateristics derived from a pre-existing state) and pleisiomorphies (characteristics within a lineage, that represent something pre-existing an apomorphic state. And whether analyzing lineages on genetic difference or gross morphology determing

Moreover, the multitude of organisms with seemingly few recently derived apomorphic states (Horseshoe Crab comes to minds as a commonly known example) suggests that "good enough to survive under present conditions" can lead to widespread distributions and commoness which certainly represent some measure of "success."

[genie_weenie]

19. Teach the Controversy!

How many of those who do not believe in Evolution would be willing to forgo a sterile surgical room or treatment via prescription drugs?

Ohhhh, I forgot. Many of those who Champion the Triumph of Unreason retort after the Fall, after man's siiiiiiin, yhwh got mad and petulantly cursed man and the world.

What rubbish! That the bronze-age myths of a desert tribe should hold sway over so many people's facilities.

[Warren DeMontague]

26. John McCain says people should learn "all the theories".

Does that include the Flying Spaghetti Monster? RAmen!

[genie_weenie]

28. Those "debates" have been ludicrous

reagan reagan reagan god god god terror terror terror

But, I do want them to teach Creationism! REAL Creationism! And ye did Wotan smite Ymir and from his bones became the earth, and from his blood became the seas, and his hair was made into the forests, and his skull became the Vault of Heaven!

WOTAN!!!!!!

[devilgrrl]

20. They also doubt boundaries with regard toward sex with children.

eom

[JHB]

21. This is the result of 30 years of two conservative countercultures merging...

The first is the conservative/evangelical/fundamentalist protestant counterculture (i.e., "Christian" bookstores, businesses, schools, etc., while trying to both "shut out the sinful world" and "take back our country")

The second is the conservative media machine that's rooted in the "Liberal Media" Big Lie.

These two have aided each other in shutting out real fact-finding and reasoning in favor of lawyerly "making (and winning) your case".

[Karenina]

24. I would revise your second group to include

the monied "think tanks," foundations and cults i.e. Christian Reconstructionists who OWN the "liberal" media.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. Yeah, well, if they weren't fucking imbeciles, they wouldn't be Republicans, now, would they? nt

[unpossibles]

29. on the bright side, the sample is only 1007 people

so maybe they accidentally asked a couple hundred morons and the study is wrong.

[Snotcicles]

30. Anybody that says they don't believe in evolution should be asked if

they believe in polygraphs, and then be given one.

[Swede]

31. Fossils are the devil's handiwork.

As Lewis Black says on YouTube.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOe7EuHclyo