POLL RELEASES
March 5, 2001
Substantial Numbers of Americans Continue to Doubt Evolution as
Explanation for Origin of Humans
Some Americans appear uncertain as to meaning of terms, however
by Deborah Jordan Brooks
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Although most scientists subscribe to the theory of
evolution as the best explanation for the origin of human beings, a recent
Gallup poll shows that the American public is much more divided in its own
beliefs. Americans choose "creationism" over "evolution" when asked which
of these two terms best describes human origins, but slightly larger
numbers of Americans choose one of two evolutionist explanations than
choose a strict creationist explanation when given a choice between three
specific views. At the same time, only about a third of the public say
that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is well supported by evidence.
These different beliefs about the origins of the human race have long been
important topics of public debate. The Kansas Board of Educations recent
reversal of its previous decision to omit references to many evolutionary
concepts in its public school standards has focused more attention on the
topic in recent weeks. While much of the debate centers on issues
surrounding the separation of church and state in public school
classrooms, the discussions are often premised largely on individuals
personal beliefs about Charles Darwins theory of evolution and the
biblical theory of creationism.
Americans More Likely to Identify Themselves as Creationists Than as
Evolutionists
Gallup has asked Americans several times over the last 20 years to choose
between three statements that describe the origin and development of the
human race. Generally speaking, the plurality of Americans have come down
on the side of a creationist approach to human origins, while slightly
fewer have agreed with a statement that reflects an evolutionary process
guided by God, and only a small number have agreed with an evolutionary
process in which God had no part.
Most recently, in Gallups February 19-21 poll, 45% of respondents chose
"God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time
within the last 10,000 years or so," the statement that most closely
describes biblical creationism. A slightly larger percentage, almost half,
chose one of the two evolution-oriented statements: 37% selected "Human
beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of
life, but God guided this process" and 12% chose "Human beings have
developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God
had no part in this process."
The public has not notably changed its opinion on this question since
Gallup started asking it in 1982.
Which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the
origin and development of human beings -- [ROTATE 1-3/3-1: 1) Human beings
have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life,
but God guided this process, 2) Human beings have developed over millions
of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this
process, 3) God created human beings pretty much in their present form at
one time within the last 10,000 years or so]?
Humans developed, with God guiding
Humans developed, but God had no part in process
God created humans in present form
OTHER (vol.)/No opinion
2001 Feb 19-21 - 37%, 12%, 45%, 6%
1999 Aug 24-26 - 40%, 9%, 47%, 4%
1997 Nov 6-9 - 39%, 10%, 44%, 7%
1993 Jun - 35%, 11%, 47%, 7%
1982 - 38%, 9%, 44%, 9%
After asking Americans which of the three statements on the origin of
humans they agreed with, Gallup asked, by name, which of the two theories
they believe in more. Given this choice, more than half of Americans say
they believe in or lean toward the "theory of creationism" while far fewer
believe in or lean toward the "theory of evolution" (57% for creationism
vs. 33% for evolution) and one out of 10 say they are unsure.
People who consider themselves to be political conservatives are much more
likely than liberals to prefer the theory of creationism. Americans in the
South and Midwest are more likely than people living in the East and West
to believe in the creation theory. Perhaps most notably, those for whom
religion is an important part of life (those who attend religious services
every week) are far more likely to prefer the theory of creationism than
are those who attend church less often (80% versus 47%, respectively).
The first question reviewed above explains the precepts of the creationist
and evolutionary approaches without mentioning the labels, while the
second gives respondents only the labels without explanation. The results
indicate some differences in interpretation based on which question is
used. More Americans agree with the word "creationism" than agree with
"evolution," but a slightly larger number choose an evolutionary
explanation rather than a creationist explanation when given specifics.
In order to better understand these issues, we examined the relationship
between responses to these two questions, looking at how people who said
they believed in or leaned toward one of the two theories answered the
more specific question describing the three approaches to the origin and
development of human beings.
Generally, there is a good deal of consistency between responses to the
two questions. The majority (two out of three) of the people who said they
believed more in "creationism" selected the statement "God created human
beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last
10,000 years or so." But interestingly, more than one-quarter of
"creationists" selected a statement that can be seen as compatible with
the scientific findings of evolutionary scholars: "Human beings have
developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God
guided this process." Only 1% of "creationists" selected the evolutionary
statement saying that "God had no part in the process." Thus, while almost
no "creationists" believe that humans developed without Gods help, a not
insignificant minority believes that human beings developed from lower
forms of life, as evolutionary scientists suggest, but that God helped the
process along.
People who choose "evolution" as their preferred theory are most
comfortable with the idea that God guided an evolutionary process of human
development. A majority -- 51% -- selected the statement "Human beings
have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life,
but God guided this process," while 34% selected that statement with the
condition that "God had no part in this process." Finally, just 10% chose
the statement that God created human beings within just the last 10,000
years.
What do these findings tell us? First, only a very small minority of
"evolutionists" choose a creationist explanation when confronted with the
specifics of the theories. Thus, the vast majority of "evolutionists" are
consistent and choose an evolutionary explanation, with or without Gods
involvement.
On the other hand, over one-quarter of Americans who say they believe in
the creationist perspective choose an evolutionary statement -- albeit the
one that has Gods involvement. Thus, it appears that a substantial
proportion of "creationists" cannot be distinguished from the majority of
"evolutionists" in the way they think about the origins and development of
humankind. While 57% of Americans claim to lean toward the label of
"creationist," in actuality, only 41% of Americans are "creationists" who
do not support an evolutionary way of thinking about human development.
The difference suggests that there is either a very broad interpretation
of the term "creationism" -- one that does not support the biblical
account of the creation of the human race -- or that there is
misunderstanding about what the label "creationism" means, among at least
some of the creation-leaning public.
Public Doubtful About Whether Evidence Supports Darwins Theory
Another question included in the recent poll asked directly about the
evidence supporting Charles Darwins theory of evolution. Given a choice
between three alternatives, only about one-third of Americans think that
Charles Darwins theory is "well supported by evidence," while slightly
more (39%) believe that it is not well supported, and that it is "just one
of many theories" on this subject. A substantial percentage of Americans
-- one in four -- felt they didnt know enough to say.
Individuals with more education and people with higher incomes are more
likely to think that evidence supports the theory of evolution. Younger
people are also more likely than older people to think that evidence
supports Darwins theory, perhaps reflecting the widespread teaching of
evolution in the classroom in recent decades.
Again, however, not all Americans are consistent in their beliefs.
Seventeen percent of those who say evolution is the best theory to explain
human origins feel that evidence does not support the theory well in
response to this specific question about Darwins theory, while 16%
indicate they dont know enough to say. Among people who prefer
creationism, one out of five says the evidence supports Darwins theory,
while 24% report they dont know enough to say.
Only 34% of Americans consider themselves to be "very informed" about the
theory of evolution, while a slightly greater percentage -- 40% --
consider themselves to be "very informed" about the theory of creation.
Younger people, people with more education, and people with higher incomes
are more likely to say they are very informed about both theories.
END
Dick Fischer - The Origins Solution - www.orisol.com
"The answer we should have known about 150 years ago."
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