# 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:** 15
**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, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/281 "2016-05-12T14:13:16Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > 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. Now not only am I scientifically ignorant but I don’t understand basic English. No, I feel this is mockery and offensive. I don’t believe exactly what you believe; therefore, I deserve ridicule. I wrote that I was skeptical not rejecting evolution. That’s my big issue. The intolerance. See, we could easily disagree as to what the nature of black holes is and not descend into insults. Yet, because evolution has a religious and political component, some people feel they have to belittle others to validate themselves. I completely believe a human from a thousand years ago is different from a human from today. Yes, people have evolved. Whether we evolved from sea creatures is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/282 "2016-05-12T14:13:50Z")
> [@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. A family of engineers and research scientists, and yet you seem to be ignorant on what the word “theory” means when it comes to science? How is this possible? ---
**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, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/283 "2016-05-12T14:19:07Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Now not only am I scientifically ignorant but I don’t understand basic English. No, I feel this is mockery and offensive. I don’t believe exactly what you believe; therefore, I deserve ridicule. I wrote that I was skeptical not rejecting evolution. That’s my big issue. The intolerance. See, we could easily disagree as to what the nature of black holes is and not descend into insults. Yet, because evolution has a religious and political component, some people feel they have to belittle others to validate themselves. > > I completely believe a human from a thousand years ago is different from a human from today. Yes, people have evolved. Whether we evolved from sea creatures is another matter. It isn’t ridicule to point out misuse of words – it’s actually a very common mistake to misunderstand the meaning of the word ‘theory’ in scientific contexts. Do you understand this, at least? That evolution is a scientific theory, just as gravity is, and this has a very different meaning from the common usage of the word ‘theory’? And actually a human from 1000 years ago is not much different, if at all different, than modern humans. Humans from 50,000 years ago may have been a bit different, and humans from 150,000 and 500,000 years ago were very different, according to the data. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/284 "2016-05-12T14:22:06Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Now not only am I scientifically ignorant but I don’t understand basic English. Well, to put it in basic English terms: 1. Words can have more than one meaning. 2. When a TV detective says “I have a theory”, that is one meaning. 3. When scientists say “We have a theory”, that means something different. 4. You can accept this or continue to say 2 = 3 and get more mockery. ---
**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, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/285 "2016-05-12T15:00:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > 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. I see your point, but what theory do we use to explain artificial selection? I think such a theory would have so much in common with the theory of evolution as to make them, in practical terms, basically the same thing. You’d be completely correct if evolution was strictly a pure science, and that it’s applications more in the realm of chemical theory. Perhaps my mistake is giving a one-to-one correspondence to “Americans who deny evolution” and “Americans who stubbornly thump their Bibles”. ---
**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, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/286 "2016-05-12T15:02:01Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It isn’t ridicule to point out misuse of words – it’s actually a very common mistake to misunderstand the meaning of the word ‘theory’ in scientific contexts. > > Do you understand this, at least? That evolution is a scientific theory, just as gravity is, and this has a very different meaning from the common usage of the word ‘theory’? > > And actually a human from 1000 years ago is not much different, if at all different, than modern humans. Humans from 50,000 years ago may have been a bit different, and humans from 150,000 and 500,000 years ago were very different, according to the data. Nit pick. “Humans” from 50,000 years ago might include Neanderthals, and Humans from 150,000 years ago would include folks pretty much like us. So, it depends on which species you’re talking about and how you are using the term “human”. In scientific terms, “human” can often mean “any member of the genus _Homo_”. ---
**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, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/287 "2016-05-12T15:13:39Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > I see your point, but what theory do we use to explain artificial selection? I think such a theory would have so much in common with the theory of evolution as to make them, in practical terms, basically the same thing. > > You’d be completely correct if evolution was strictly a pure science, and that it’s applications more in the realm of chemical theory. Perhaps my mistake is giving a one-to-one correspondence to “Americans who deny evolution” and “Americans who stubbornly thump their Bibles”. We use the theory of genetics to explain GMOs. Genetics helps explain how evolution works, but keep in mind that Darwin didn’t know anything about genes when he formulation his theory. ---
**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, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/288 "2016-05-12T15:15:32Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Yes, people have evolved. Whether we evolved from sea creatures is another matter. No, it really isn’t. And the evidence is overwhelming. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/289 "2016-05-12T15:18:59Z")
[Is Gallup Right About Nearly Half Of Americans Believing The Earth Is Only 6,000 Years Old?](http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/gallup-right-about-nearly-half-americans-believing-earth-only-6000-years-old) ---
**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, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/290 "2016-05-12T15:21:26Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > I completely believe a human from a thousand years ago is different from a human from today. Yes, people have evolved. Whether we evolved from sea creatures is another matter. Just out of curiosity, if you traced the human lineage back [350M years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik), where do you think you would find yourself? ---
**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, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/291 "2016-05-12T15:23:52Z")
> [@Doyle](#): > > [Is Gallup Right About Nearly Half Of Americans Believing The Earth Is Only 6,000 Years Old?](http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/gallup-right-about-nearly-half-americans-believing-earth-only-6000-years-old) From your cite: “Based on this evidence, Rosenau says there are probably only one in ten, 31 million Americans that actually believe the earth is 6,000 years old.” ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/292 "2016-05-12T15:25:30Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > I don’t believe exactly what you believe; therefore, I deserve ridicule. I wrote that I was skeptical not rejecting evolution. “Belief”. There’s another interesting English word that bears some examination. Belief in the absence of evidence is just blind faith. Belief that is contrary to evidence is a manifestation of ignorance, and those expressing such ignorance deserve to be called out on it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/293 "2016-05-12T15:33:43Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > … Yet, because evolution has a religious and political component, some people feel they have to belittle others to validate themselves. > > … Evolution utterly lacks a religious and political component. ---
**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, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/294 "2016-05-12T15:38:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > We use the theory of genetics to explain GMOs. Genetics helps explain how evolution works, but keep in mind that Darwin didn’t know anything about genes when he formulation his theory. So your saying evolution _cannot_ explain inherited traits? ---
**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, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/295 "2016-05-12T15:43:03Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > I completely believe a human from a thousand years ago is different from a human from today. Yes, people have evolved. Whether we evolved from sea creatures is another matter. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just out of curiosity, if you traced the human lineage back [350M years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiktaalik), where do you think you would find yourself? I really think this is an important point, and I’d like **PCP** to outline what he does believe (or think). Is it only humans who didn’t evolve from sea creatures? What about amphibians or reptiles? What did humans evolve from, as far back as you can imagine? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/296 "2016-05-12T15:43:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > A family of engineers and research scientists, and yet you seem to be ignorant on what the word “theory” means when it comes to science? > How is this possible? On the off-chance that I am mistaken and that you _do_ understand [what “theory” means when used in the scientific community](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_theory), **Pearl Clutching Provocateur** , could you please tell us about the scientific evidence and testing that supports the Intelligent Design Theory? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/297 "2016-05-12T15:47:03Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > So your saying evolution _cannot_ explain inherited traits? You do understand that the study and refinement of the theory of evolution did not stop with Darwin, right? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/298 "2016-05-12T15:49:08Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Evolution utterly lacks a religious and political component. But _ **denial** _ of evolution, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, is entirely motivated by religion and politics. Perhaps this is what our troublesome aficionado of calcium carbonate necklaces meant to say. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/299 "2016-05-12T15:54:47Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, to put it in basic English terms: > > 1. Words can have more than one meaning. > > 2. When a TV detective says “I have a theory”, that is one meaning. > > 3. When scientists say “We have a theory”, that means something different. What does it mean when Rupert Giles says it? Answer: the best TV episode in history. ---
**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, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801/300 "2016-05-12T15:57:45Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > Now not only am I scientifically ignorant but I don’t understand basic English. No, I feel this is mockery and offensive. I don’t believe exactly what you believe; therefore, I deserve ridicule. I wrote that I was skeptical not rejecting evolution. That’s my big issue. The intolerance. See, we could easily disagree as to what the nature of black holes is and not descend into insults. Yet, because evolution has a religious and political component, some people feel they have to belittle others to validate themselves. Your black hole analogy would be better if you were dismissing General Relativity and not the nature of the black hole. GR, like evolution, is the framework around which our understanding of natural phenomena emerge from. It’s not a question of mean old atheists angry at god insulting you. It’s following a chain of evidence and empirically confirmed predictions that flow from evolutionary theory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-americans-deny-evolution/337801.md?page=16)