Do the following statisics about religion scare you as much as they do me?

Question

Here are some disturbing statistics, partly from a 2004 CBS News Poll, a 2004 Gallup poll, and a Gallup poll of U.S. teenagers.

81% of U.S. teenagers think that God controlled or influenced the origin of humans. (Gallup)
65% of Americans think that we should teach both creationism and evolution in schools. (CBS)
55% believe that “God created humans in present form.” (CBS)
45% believe that the world is less than 10,000 years old. (Gallup)
37% think that we should teach just creationism in schools, including 60% of evangelical Christians. (CBS)
36% believe in telepathy.
35% say that evolution is well supported by the evidence. (Gallup)
35% say that evolution is not well supported by the evidence. (Gallup)
25% believe in astrology.
25% think the sun goes around the Earth.
13% think that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.
Only 13% of Americans accept the standard scientific account of evolution, without a god’s involvement. (CBS)

We have a long way to go

Answer 1

where was this poll taken, trailer parks?

Answer 2

I don't mind that 81% of Americans say God controlled or influenced the origin of humans. It doesn't bother me a bit.

What bothers me is the view that their belief should be given 'equal' time in a science classroom (65%!)

Of course, there are some problems here. 65% believe both creationism and evolution should be taught, 37% believe just creationism - well, we're already above 100% without considering the ones who support evolution.

A lot of that is very frightening still. Especially 25% believing that the sun goes round the earth...

The most frightening is that these numbers may be _increasing_, not decreasing... Frightening and saddening...

Answer 3

One hundred and forty some odd years ago, half of this country believed that slavery was mandated by God. That's scary, because in the ensuing war, more American men died in battle than all of the other wars this country has fought (combined!). Figures lie, and liers figure. Death is real, go look at Arlington National Cemetery. To drive the point home, that cemetery was placed on the property of the Confederate Leader. How would you like to wake up with those statistics to great you every morning. I don't think you understand fear. You are annoyed, yes. You are tired, yes. And you may have good reason to worry about life after death. But I don't think fear is the proper term, in regard to these statistics.

Answer 4

As a bioscientist that is really very scary, but more so - very , very sad. And it makes me very glad I don't live in America (but I pity the rest of you).

A more positive statistic is that despite that ridiculous level of ignorance, 93% of members of the US National Academy of Sciences do not believe in a personal God (and of course none are creationists).

Since America's financial success depends on industrial and technological output if it wants to stay competitive the majority can't do away with or suppress the NAS.

Since America has embraced "trickle-down" economics, I guess we can only hope that "trickle-down" education will be embraced too...

I'm sure those sticking to reason will triumph in the end (though I'm not really prepared to sit around and wait!)

Answer 5

Everything goes in cycles. I think we are at one extreme swing right now, and things will start swinging the other way. I read the following recently on Craig's list and I think we can get there again, just have patience ;-) :

MYTH 1: The US was founded on Christian principles.

TRUTH:

This is incorrect.
The Constitution never once mentions a deity, because the Founding Fathers wanted to keep their new country "religion-neutral." Our Founding Fathers were an eclectic collection of Atheists, Deists, Christians, Freemasons and Agnostics.

George Washington, the Father of our country, and John Adams (Second President of the USA) CLEARLY stated in the 1796 Treaty of Tripoli: "The Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.”

G.W. rarely attended church and instead followed a popular 18th century philosophy called Deism—a Star Wars-esque philosophy that believed in a cosmic energy or big-*** universal "Force." The dictionary says that Deism is "a system of thought advocating natural religion based on human reason rather than revelation," that had nothing to do with Christian principles.

James Madison, original mastermind of our Constitution, was an Atheist to the core who loved skewering Christianity. In 1785 he wrote, "What have been [Christianity’s] fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.”

Thomas Jefferson, who sat down and authored The Declaration of Independence, rarely missed an opportunity to laugh at Christianity. In a letter to John Adams in 1823, he wrote: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus…will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter."

More ammo: In 1814, Tommy J. wrote about the Bible's Old and New Testaments, "The whole history of these books is so defective and doubtful -- evidence that parts have proceeded from an extraordinary man; and that other parts are of the fabric of very inferior minds.”

In fact, it was President Jefferson himself who first wrote (to a Baptist church group in 1802), "The First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between Church and State." Therefore, when Jefferson talked about “Nature’s God,” the “Creator” and “divine Providence ” in the Declaration that he wrote, he was being a hippie and referring to a general cosmic energy-- not the Christian God.

America is not a Christian nation. Period. Our Constitution derived from the post-Christian Enlightenment values of reason and truth...never from the paranoid yammerings of that otherwise compassionate cult leader who fu**ing died in the Middle Eastern desert 3000 years ago.

Answer 6

They scare me plenty. How much do they scare you?

We can't expect the United States to survive this kind of ignorance. I think there's a reasonably good chance that sometime this century the U.S. will become simply a larger, more powerful version of the Taliban Afghanistan. These statistics suggest that we're likely to surrender to that without a real struggle.

Answer 7

I am a Christian myself who happens to be knowledgable on History, I believe in Creation but not Evolution.

I do feel that one should be allowed to decide if they would rather learn Creation or Evolution but the Evolutionists would rather have it Mandatory that everyone learn Evolution and call me closed minded when im in favor of a solution that everyone can live with if we really tried.

I do find it unbelievable how many people do not know their History and my Knowledge of History has shaped my support for the current War on Terror no matter how many ignorant Anti-War people accuse Bush of being Hitler while failing to realize the real Hitler is Saddam Hussein not to mention failing to realize if it weren't for Bush we would have someone like Bin Laden as President.

WOuld anyone want Bin Laden as President? would those saying anyone but Bush prefer Bin Laden as President?

Answer 8

I'll give one argument to the Christians in the spirit of good will, about the "God created humans in present form." Yes, as long as humans have been around, they have been in this form. The things they evolved from were not humans.

Answer 9

Everyone is entitled to their own personal veiwpoint. That is why there is free will. If people choose not to educate themselves that would fall under free will. If people choose not to believe, that would also fall under free will. Just because certain percentages of people belive in telepathy, astrology, etc. does not make them bad, it does not even make them wrong. All it does is make them different from you and I. When did different become such a bad thing?

Answer 10

Of course this poll is (not) scientific? Right Jim?

You have 3 polls mixed. Gallop is believable, CBS is not (they like to cheat).

Which way do you want to go here?

Answer 11

I have heard some of those statistics, and it is alarming to me about the percentages of teenagers in society believing such things. You are right about one thing: we really do have a very long way to go.