Why do most Americans deny evolution?
“Less than half of all Americans believe in evolution.”
source American Museum of Natural History
page 53, Newsweek, November 28, 2005.
Last week Gov. Jeb Bush of FL (I’m paraphrasing) said he did not want the teaching of evolution to be part of the public school’s curriculum.
Do the majority also believe in astrology, as did Nancy Reagan?
A combination of strong religion and pathetic science education, I believe.
Why would religion be a factor in the denial of evolution?
It’s the only factor of importance; all the facts, all the science is on the side of evolution. Besides, how do you have non-religious creationism ?
I reject the premise that religion and science are somehow opposed. Not only do they not oppose, they do not even intersect. They do not examine the same things.
Lots of non-religious people accept the existence of supernatural phenomena. God is supernatural, but something supernatural is not necessarily God — just as a cow is a bovine, but a bovine is not necessarily a cow. Ghosts, for example, are supernatural.
Nice link
But why?
Didn’t the pope (Pope John) in the late 1990’s say evolution should be accepted?
Liberal, I agree with you that there’s no conflict between science and religion, but not everyone feels that way. A lot (I would say most) resistance to evolution stems from the feeling that evolution is an attack on their belief system. I’ve certainly never heard an objection to evolution that wasn’t founded on religion, although that obviously doesn’t mean that such objections don’t exsist. Do you know of any?
I suggest you read the link from **lonesome loser **. Disbelief in evolution does come from religion, whether you choose to deny reality or not.
Religion and science are opposed, for the simple reason that religion promotes faith, while science relies on reason and facts. To the extent they “do not examine the same things”, it’s because science has systematically disproven so much of religion. Religion can only survive by avoiding/denying science or forceful imposition.
A creator/shaper of life and a god are usually considered the same thing.
Err - what other factors could there possibly be?
So, are there giant wizards that did it or what?
Perhaps it is the phrasing of the question that impacts on the responses. I know many people who “believe” in evolution, but query why and how the universe was formed.
I also wonder just who Newsweek polled for those results.
And I am somewhat dismayed by the results, no matter the methodology.
To me, religion and science are neither mutually exclusive nor at odds with one another–they are infrequently tangentially related. YMMV.
I seriously doubt that. Let’s see a cite.
I agree. But we’re not talking about you and me here, we’re talking about Americans who don’t accept evolution by natural selection. Most of them will cite the Bible as their source of information about the formation of the Earth and the life on it.
Typical christian creationists are not Roman Catholic.
I have the strange perspective of having grown up Roman Catholic then later a string of fundimentalists denominations from Southern Baptist to Assembly of God. Literal interpretation is paramount to fundimentalists. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I’m going to hell because I don’t believe the universe was created in 144 hours. Seriously many believe their faith is at stake if they accept anything that contradicts what Genesis says. Fortunately plenty of Christians accept that Genesis was written for it’s audience and that it isn’t exactly a blueprint for the world.
Oh, the pope in the '90s was John-Paul II. Don’t confuse him with the most recent pope John, the XXIII.
The problem is that the question is poorly phrased, presenting two disparate concepts as though they were either/or excluded-middle choices.
The link was so that others could see the poll you’re talking about. It helps if we know the nature of the question as well as the actual results.
For example, your statement that Jeb Bush did not want the teaching of evolution to be part of the public school curriculum looks a little different when you put it in its context.
I imagine the reason that people believe in creationism is the same reason that people believe in evolution: they find the evidence and explanations more satisfying and/or it better fits with their preconceived worldview.
But that’s not a conflict between science and religion. It’s just plain ignorance — of exactly the same kind as the people who cite science as their source of information about God.
I find it amazing how often a right wing politician will say something, then along trots someone else to tell you what he really said.
:rolleyes:
Hmm. Do you accept that the anti-evolution position is in conflict with science? If so, would “a conflict between science and certain religious beliefs” be an accurate way of describing the debate?
I would also be reluctant to use the word “ignorance”. Many creationists know as much, if not more, about the fossil record, the geologic column, radiometric dating, etc, than the typical non-scientific supporter of evolution, yet they still choose to adopt an anti-scientific position. There are many words, most of them uncomplimentary, that can be used to describe this attitude, but “ignorant” isn’t one of them.