# Why do most Americans deny evolution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 31, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801 "2005-12-31T00:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/261 "2016-05-12T02:33:32Z")
I look forward to the response in 2026. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/262 "2016-05-12T03:15:10Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > BTW, it’s rather strange that Bush would mention being Catholic, since the RCC is pretty much 100% on board with evolution, and it’s routinely taught in Catholic schools all throughout the country. Maybe make that 99.999% There is at least one “Catholic” radio station (“I Heart Radio”) that “teaches the controversy” in such a way as to cast (artificially contrived) doubt on evolutionary science. In practice, there are a lot of Catholic creationists. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/263 "2016-05-12T03:24:35Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > In practice, there are a lot of Catholic creationists. But only in America, in my observation. Which goes neatly back to the question raised by the OP in 2005. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/264 "2016-05-12T03:25:01Z")
[Ten years?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOnBWxNfYM) That’s not “busy”. That’s “abducted by aliens.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/265 "2016-05-12T03:41:21Z")
The important thing is that the OP finishes what he starts. ---
**Author:** ![bonitahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bonitahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonitahi)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/266 "2016-05-12T04:19:33Z")
John Mace- Thanks for the new editing device and advice. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/267 "2016-05-12T04:36:56Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Maybe make that 99.999% There is at least one “Catholic” radio station (“I Heart Radio”) that “teaches the controversy” in such a way as to cast (artificially contrived) doubt on evolutionary science. > > In practice, there are a lot of Catholic creationists. Yes, there are. My (late) mother among them. But Bush in not your run-of-the-mill Catholic and should be well aware of the official Church teachings, which are well in line with any standard school biology curriculum. In fact, I would expect the Jesuit schools, especially, to teach a rigorous science curriculum. Oh wait… I know. He’s a convert who did not grow up in the church, exposed to Catholic schools. Maybe not so well aware after all! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/268 "2016-05-12T04:45:21Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > But only in America, in my observation. Which goes neatly back to the question raised by the OP in 2005. Just for completion’s sake, I do know people outside the US that if you asked, specially in certain contexts, if they believe God created the world, would say yes. Most but not all of them are Catholic. What they’re not is literalists; they see “God made everything” as being perfectly compatible with “and one of the mechanisms He used is called evolution”, which is what my own class was taught in 10th Grade Religion. Not in Science Class - the part that boggles me is the wanting to mix Bible Studies with the Law of Gravity. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/269 "2016-05-12T05:00:15Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Not in Science Class - the part that boggles me is the wanting to mix Bible Studies with the Law of Gravity. “It is written that each mote shall attract each other by a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses but also inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them; but, yea, verily, I say unto to you that such force is in sooth a function of the curvature of spacetime induced by the presence of mass, Selah.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/270 "2016-05-12T06:36:42Z")
> [@urban1a](#): > > I haven’t been particularly busy for the last 10 years; just sitting here waiting for the cite to be posted. Thanks \*\*bonitahi2 \*\*, it’s going to feel good to get up out of this chair (if I can). > > Bob Remember to remove the IV and the catheter before you get up. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/271 "2016-05-12T06:37:56Z")
Perhaps the better question is how many deny evolution who actually understand it. A lot of people’s eye glaze over when we talk about millions of years, this isn’t a time scale they can wrap their brains around. How many people deny evolution but think nothing of using the products the theory gave us … like GMOs in our food supply. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/272 "2016-05-12T06:49:55Z")
Many people who accept it do not understand it either, but they’re happy to toss it in the same big black box as “there’s people inside my television” or “some food tastes good and some does not”. One of the types of questions these boards get periodically is… there’s one on right now, actually, regarding nails and claws… “why does X species [have/not have] Y feature that I think would be cool?” Those questions come from an unconscious notion of evolution as directed, or perhaps as director: someone went and decided that hummingbirds will be tiny or that whales will not have hands. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/273 "2016-05-12T07:01:32Z")
By the way, **bonitahi2** , you might want to contact a moderator about getting your new account merged with your original account. It is against board rules to have two accounts, even if you are only using the new account, and it is one of the few things they give an instant ban for. If you contact a mod, though, they will give you assistance with getting the two accounts merged. You need to contact them first, though. Don’t wait until it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/274 "2016-05-12T13:22:37Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Perhaps the better question is how many deny evolution who actually understand it. A lot of people’s eye glaze over when we talk about millions of years, this isn’t a time scale they can wrap their brains around. > > How many people deny evolution but think nothing of using the products the theory gave us … like GMOs in our food supply. GMOs are not a product of the theory of evolution, which is about natural selection… They are, in fact, much closer to “Intelligent Design” with us as the Designer than to Darwin’s theory. ---
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/275 "2016-05-12T13:31:18Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Perhaps the better question is how many deny evolution who actually understand it. No, I understand evolution but am generally skeptical of it and favor an intelligent design theory. My brother and I are engineers. My parents were medical research scientists. What bothers me is the accusation that anyone who rejects evolution is ignorant. Remember it is a theory. Most religious people accept 99.99% of scientific fact. We understand colds are caused by viruses not evil spirits and that objects fall to Earth because of gravity not angels. There is so much scientific fact and theory that mocking someone who rejects one sliver of thinking as poorly educated and ignorant says more about the accuser than those who reject evolution. I think those who mock people who reject evolution have a vendetta against religion in general. They see religion as a shackle that keeps them from fun and oppresses them and perhaps failed them in their time of need. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/276 "2016-05-12T13:40:24Z")
If you say “it’s a theory” as a way to dismiss it, then you really don’t understand it. ---
**Author:** ![Sampsiceramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Sampsiceramos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampsiceramos)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/277 "2016-05-12T13:45:54Z")
… and to expound on the words of **Grey** , the suggestion that: > [@](#): > > They see religion as a shackle that keeps them from fun and oppresses them and perhaps failed them in their time of need. Is moralizing, condescending, and worst of all, simply wrong. Needless to say, you are not exactly helping your case so far. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/278 "2016-05-12T13:46:26Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > No, I understand evolution but am generally skeptical of it and favor an intelligent design theory. My brother and I are engineers. My parents were medical research scientists. > > What bothers me is the accusation that anyone who rejects evolution is ignorant. Remember it is a theory. Most religious people accept 99.99% of scientific fact. We understand colds are caused by viruses not evil spirits and that objects fall to Earth because of gravity not angels. There is so much scientific fact and theory that mocking someone who rejects one sliver of thinking as poorly educated and ignorant says more about the accuser than those who reject evolution. > > I think those who mock people who reject evolution have a vendetta against religion in general. They see religion as a shackle that keeps them from fun and oppresses them and perhaps failed them in their time of need. If you favor intelligent design (which is a religion-based assertion rather than actual science) over evolution (which is actual science), then I don’t think you fully understand evolution. Further, your use of the word “theory” suggests that you don’t understand what “theory” means [in the context of science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_theory). Evolution is as strong and supported of a scientific theory as gravity. None of this is mockery – you don’t understand the meaning of the words you are using, nor do you understand the actual science (or lack thereof, for the form of Creationism known as Intelligent Design) behind them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/279 "2016-05-12T14:04:30Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > No, I understand evolution but am generally skeptical of it and favor an intelligent design theory. My brother and I are engineers. My parents were medical research scientists. > > What bothers me is the accusation that anyone who rejects evolution is ignorant. Remember it is a theory. Most religious people accept 99.99% of scientific fact. We understand colds are caused by viruses not evil spirits and that objects fall to Earth because of gravity not angels. There is so much scientific fact and theory that mocking someone who rejects one sliver of thinking as poorly educated and ignorant says more about the accuser than those who reject evolution. > > I think those who mock people who reject evolution have a vendetta against religion in general. They see religion as a shackle that keeps them from fun and oppresses them and perhaps failed them in their time of need. ID is not a scientific theory. It does not have a testable hypothesis. Evolution by natural selection is just a “theory” in the exact same sense gravity is just a theory. Both have been rigorously tested and make testable predictions that have not been disproved, yet. There might be some theory to supplant either one of those in the future, but it won’t be ID in the case of evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/280 "2016-05-12T14:09:17Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > If you say “it’s a theory” as a way to dismiss it, then you really don’t understand it. Thus, proving the point. People who use the “only a theory” argument aren’t just ignorant about evolution, but ignorant about how science works. I have no problem (logically) if people reject evolution based on religious beliefs. I disagree with them, but they are making a choice that is at least defendable. If you disagree with evolution based on scientific reasons, yes, you are ignorant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801.md?page=15)