Thread: Only 4 in 10 Americans believe in evolution?

And most people believe in a god even though there is no evidence in his existence so what they then? Less stupid than the ones that don't believe in evolution? or is this just another one of your selective biases on whats is acceptable to believe and not to believe?

You are correct, it is most definitely a symptom of the right-wing's attempts to eliminate science education - and indeed, public education - altogether. They're "not materialists" - which they dubiously equate with Marxism - meaning, in effect, that they don't believe there's any such thing as objective reality or truth. Straight from the horse's (Irving Kristol, the "Godfather of Neoconservatism") mouth:"All I want to do," he told his AEI audience, "is break the bonds of Darwinian materialism which at the moment restrict our imagination. For the moment that's enough."From Reason.com - hardly a liberal rag: http://www.reason.com/news/printer/30329.html And people wonder why the right seems so deluded...Kristol and his criminal brethren have waged a decades-long campaign to stamp out "materialistic" - scientific, in other words - thinking, resulting in nearly two full generations comprised largely of dumbed-down, easily manipulable zombies who have no capacity to think objectively, critically, logically, or scientifically. They've created, with help from the likes of Rupert Murdoch and lots of high-moneyed charlatans in the clergy, a huge contingent of the public which has been trained to cognitively tune out anything they don't like to hear or which upsets their existing beliefs - which is largely why talking to one of these people about politics, religion, current events or really anything of substance, often feels like beating your head against a brick wall.Meanwhile, those who've undergone the first iteration of lobotomizing neo-con brainwashing can now be reliably counted upon to scold, harass, threaten, intimidate, and cajole teachers and administrators who dare to be so rude as to insist their students actually have a right to acquire at least a basic understanding of the workings of the natural world.Of course, defenders of rationality have largely been unable to grasp the reasons behind America's slow descent into the barbarism of fundamentalist Christianity. Such defenders must wake up to these facts, and respond in kind. The key is NOT to be intimidated by their ranting and raving - they're all bark, no bite. Everyday rationalists must educate themselves about not only the science of evolution (I'll throw in climatology and cosmology as well, because those are equally high-priority targets of the anti-science crowd), but on the common misconceptions and rationalizations for denial of the pertinent facts. We must then insist on sound science eduction every bit as passionately and tirelessly as they fight to destroy it. If we do this, I have no doubt that we will eventually win out, with religion eventually winding up precisely where in belongs - on the ash heap of history - for we have the facts on our side. This is a very serious issue; other western societies have fallen when they turned away from scientific values and instead sought false comfort in the siren's song of religious myth. There is no reason to believe our inevitable fate will be any different if we continue on our present path. Of course, we'll all end up switching places with the Indians and Chinese long before that happens, which should provide an impetus for even the most devout believers to support science education - we all know how they feel 'bout dem commie Chinamen.

I am too sleepy to do my own championing of Evolution. However, I will say simply, the manor in which the word "theory" is used in reference to mathematics and science is not at all the same as the definition and use in lay conversation of the same word. This video explains it quite well I think. It is about 10 minutes long.....so I doubt anyone will bother.http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=37441EDIT Nice job though, Sam. I appreciate your informed stance. Unfortunately I fear it is Mozart at the Monster Truck Rally.

Ones belief in creationism or evolution has nothing to do with education and everything to do with personal experiences and the way they were raised. I don't send my children to school for the teachers to educate them with their "opinions". The U.S. does need to fix public education but they need to address real problems that will actually affect these children when they're adults and not waste the kids time when he or she could be learning something productive.

This proves that 6 in 10 Americans are retarded.

Most of us Europeans find these statistics amazing, throughout our continent the figure is well over 80% of the population who accept evolution.A study carried out in 2006 published a short comparative study of international acceptance of evolution. Thirty-four countries were polled, and The US were 33rd - edging out Turkey for last place.The U.S. has a tradition of Protestant fundamentalism not found in Europe that takes the Bible literally and sees the Book of Genesis as an accurate account of the creation of human life. Research found that in America individuals with anti-abortion, pro-life views associated with the conservative wing of the Republican Party were significantly more likely to reject evolution than people with pro-choice views. Whereas in Europe having pro-life or right-wing political views had little correlation with a person's attitude toward evolution.This reflects the politicization of the evolution issue in the U.S. in a manner never seen in Europe. In the second half of the 20th century, the conservative wing of the Republican Party has adopted creationism as part of a platform designed to consolidate their support in Southern and Midwestern states. For example when Ronald Reagan was running for President of the U.S., he gave speeches in these states where he would slip in the sentence, "I have no chimpanzees in my family."When such a view comes from the U.S. President or other prominent political figures, it lends a degree of legitimacy to the dispute.studies in the U.S. suggest substantial numbers of American adults are confused about some core ideas related to 20th- and 21st-century biology. Other researchers cite a 2005 study finding that 78 percent of adults in the U.S. agreed that plants and animals had evolved from other organisms. In the same study, 62 percent also believed that God created humans without any evolutionary development. They found that fewer than half of American adults can provide a minimal definition of DNA.As adults with some understanding of genetics are more likely to have a belief in evolution it must be the teaching of biology throughout the States which is the reason for these statistics.Therefore I believe until evolution is taken out of the political agenda and the influence of the church over the teaching of Biology is removed from the schools, Americans will continue to fail to be properly educated in this subject.