Why is it that only in the USA Christians are willfully ignorant (2 Peter) about what science really says?

Question

I am a Christian, but feel ashamed by those who share my faith, yet do not use the mind God gave them. Around the world Christians accept what science is and how it works, but here in the USA the majority know little about what science is and how it explains the world around us.

In science theories are used to explain facts; observed facts (fossil sequences, comparative DNA, homology, embryology) are explained by a theory called Evolutionary Biology.

Science itself cannot say anything about the existence or non-existence of God or anything supernatural since that is the realm of theology and not science, yet instead of educating themselves I have found many of my fellow Christians remaining ignorant about science, incredulous of its methods, and willing to deceive themselves and others about many fields of science (geology, physics, chemistry, biology) and even mathematics in order to attack Evolutionary Biology while proving they cannot even correctly define said theory.

Answer 1

i am in the same boat as you my friend. as the son of a baptist minister who is majoring in cellular and molecular biology i have witnessed a lot of stupidity and stubborness in modern christian culture. what is most unfortunate about this is that it is giving rise to a generation that cannot believe in god, because almost everything his followers argue for is obsolete.
the bible is not a scientific book. it is an ethics book. it is a collection of STORIES. the fact that these stories may not be scientifically accurate does not affect the fact that they ARE morally accurate.
keep the faith man, the world needs people like you.

Answer 2

Im a Christian and I have a Bachelor of Science degree.

At times, when I read the Bible, I, too, will use my knowledge to help my understanding of what Im reading. Other times, I dont - why? Because you and I know that even though God did established laws of physics, biology and whatever, God is bigger than those laws. For example, God create a Virgin birth superseding basic reproductive process because this is a way that God can demostrate His awesome power.

I personally think that some sort of evolution occurred. However, here is something to think about. Scientists can figure out if the dinosaur is male or female by looking at the size of the hip. But wait a minute....If evolution did occurred, then what really should have happen is that scientists could NOT tell if the dinosaur was male or female because the size of the hip has not evolved yet. They should be the same size since these bones are millions of years old.

Ultimately, I ask myself....With my knowledge of science, am I getting closer to God? If that knowledge helps you to get closer then go for it. If not, then think again.

Answer 3

While the percentage of US people who do not accept evolution is shamefully high (and most of those do not accept it because of religious reasons) it is not fair to single out the USA. England, Australia and many other nations have their share of creationist, and some of the better know US preachers come from abroad.
Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, is Australian.

As for rokdude5, your comment makes no sense.
Dino hips are different sizes due to the need to lay eggs, just as in many other species. Whether or not the bones are fossilized makes no difference in the matter.

Answer 4

I read an article once that made a lot of sense to me.

Since America was founded by numerous groups who were often escaping religious percecution, these groups held on to their old culture with more passion that groups in the old countries did. This carries on today becuase we have so many viewpoints out there that people feel threatened and want to cling to and defend their viewpoint more. That's why there's so many extreme Christians.

For example, my parents are Indian, and I've learned both Indian classical music and dance, which probably would not have happened if we lived in India (in comparision, only one of my hundreds of cousins in India knows any classical art).

Answer 5

Don't you find that as a whole, we christians are pretty ignorant about even our own faith? Most christians, when asked basic Bible questions we fumble for answers or pass the buck with a line like, "I'll have to ask my pastor." I enjoyed your opinion and your question and I agree with you. I have begun researching for myself the subject of things paranormal. My christian friends act like I'm worshiping Satan by doing so. But as you probably know...if the truth be the truth at all, nothing can unseat it or disturb it. While most christians seem to fear that science may attempt to prove their faith invalid, I welcome the scientific approach with the expectation that it will reveal more clearly that the God of the Bible is precisely who He said He is. I get a kick whenever science declares something to be so and then years later they have to admit they were wrong. So science doesn't scare me. And as a paranormal investigator I also say this: "The dead don't scare me at all...it's the living that scare me the most!"

Answer 6

Nice to hear from a cogent, articulate Christian on the matter for a change.

There are attacks on evolution and science by Christians in other demographically Christian countries, but they are just getting warmed up. They are begining to use tactics developed by american creationist groups and in some instances importing creationist propaganda materials.

It's nice to see a professed christian who understands the need for sentence breaks for clarity, my eyes thank you.

Answer 7

Amen, brother!

Why can't we be Christians and also believe in what science is teaching us? Why are so many Christians speaking out against stem cell research? Isn't it possible that God has given us the power to cure diseases? Isn't it possible that our ability to learn and understand is a gift from God? Why do I have to explain to my children that there are religious people who say that God doesn't want scientists to help cure Mommy's multiple sclerosis?

Answer 8

Your statement is ignorant and a perpetuation of a stereotype. I happen to be American, Christian, and a Biological Scientist. It is true that many Christians misunderstand and think evolution and creation are mutually exclusive, but I am sure they are not all in America.

Answer 9

Couldn't agree more. Not sure why, but it is a shame.

Answer 10

U.S. Lags World in Grasp of Genetics and Acceptance of Evolution

Ker Than
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.comThu Aug 10, 5:45 PM ET

A comparison of peoples' views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranked lower.

Among the factors contributing to America's low score are poor understanding of biology, especially genetics, the politicization of science and the literal interpretation of the Bible by a small but vocal group of American Christians, the researchers say.

“American Protestantism is more fundamentalist than anybody except perhaps the Islamic fundamentalist, which is why Turkey and we are so close,” said study co-author Jon Miller of Michigan State University.

The researchers combined data from public surveys on evolution collected from 32 European countries, the United States and Japan between 1985 and 2005. Adults in each country were asked whether they thought the statement “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals,” was true, false, or if they were unsure.

The study found that over the past 20 years:
The percentage of U.S. adults who accept evolution declined from 45 to 40 percent. The percentage overtly rejecting evolution declined from 48 to 39 percent, however. And the percentage of adults who were unsure increased, from 7 to 21 percent.

Of the other countries surveyed, only Turkey ranked lower, with about 25 percent of the population accepting evolution and 75 percent rejecting it. In Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and France, 80 percent or more of adults accepted evolution; in Japan, 78 percent of adults did.

The findings are detailed in the Aug. 11 issue of the journal Science.

Religion belief and evolution

The researchers also compared 10 independent variables­including religious belief, political ideology and understanding of concepts from genetics, or “genetic literacy”­between adults in America and nine European countries to determine whether these factors could predict attitudes toward evolution.

The analysis found that Americans with fundamentalist religious beliefs­defined as belief in substantial divine control and frequent prayer­were more likely to reject evolution than Europeans with similar beliefs. The researchers attribute the discrepancy to differences in how American Christian fundamentalist and other forms of Christianity interpret the Bible.

While American fundamentalists tend to interpret the Bible literally and to view Genesis as a true and accurate account of creation, mainstream Protestants in both the United States and Europe instead treat Genesis as metaphorical, the researchers say.

“Whether it’s the Bible or the Koran, there are some people who think it’s everything you need to know,” Miller said. “Other people say these are very interesting metaphorical stories in that they give us guidance, but they’re not science books.”

This latter view is also shared by the Catholic Church.

Politics and the Flat Earth

Politics is also contributing to America's widespread confusion about evolution, the researchers say. Major political parties in the United States are more willing to make opposition to evolution a prominent part of their campaigns to garner conservative votes­something that does not happen in Europe or Japan.

Miller says that it makes about as much sense for politicians to oppose evolution in their campaigns as it is for them to advocate that the Earth is flat and promise to pass legislation saying so if elected to office.

"You can pass any law you want but it won't change the shape of the Earth," Miller told LiveScience.

Paul Meyers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota who was not involved in the study, says that what politicians should be doing is saying, 'We ought to defer these questions to qualified authorities and we should have committees of scientists and engineers who we will approach for the right answers."

The researchers also single out the poor grasp of biological concepts, especially genetics, by American adults as an important contributor to the country's low confidence in evolution.

“The more you understand about genetics, the more you understand about the unity of life and the relationship humans have to other forms of life,” Miller said.

The current study also analyzed the results from a 10-country survey in which adults were tested with 10 true or false statements about basic concepts from genetics. One of the statements was "All plants and animals have DNA." Americans had a median score of 4. (The correct answer is "yes.")

Science alone is not enough

But the problem is more than one of education­it goes deeper, and is a function of our country's culture and history, said study co-author Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education in California.

“The rejection of evolution is not something that will be solved by throwing science at it,” Scott said in a telephone interview.

Myers expressed a similar sentiment. About the recent trial in Dover, Pennsylvania which ruled against intelligent design, Myers said "it was a great victory for our side and it’s done a lot to help ensure that we keep religion out of the classroom for a while longer, but it doesn’t address the root causes. The creationists are still creationists­they're not going to change because of a court decision."

Scott says one thing that will help is to have Catholics and mainstream Protestants speak up about their theologies' acceptance of evolution.

"There needs to be more addressing of creationism from these more moderate theological perspectives," Scott said. “The professional clergy and theologians whom I know tend to be very reluctant to engage in that type of ‘my theology versus your theology’ discussion, but it matters because it’s having a negative effect on American scientific literacy."

The latest packaging of creationism is intelligent design, or ID, a conjecture which claims that certain features of the natural world are so complex that they could only be the work of a Supreme Being. ID proponents say they do not deny that evolution is true, only that scientists should not rule out the possibility of supernatural intervention.

But scientists do not share doubts over evolution. They argue it is one of the most well tested theories around, supported by countless tests done in many different scientific fields. Scott says promoting uncertainty about evolution is just as bad as denying it outright and that ID and traditional creationism both spread the same message.

“Both are saying that evolution is bad science, that evolution is weak and inadequate science, and that it can’t do the job so therefore God did it,” she said.

Another view

Bruce Chapman, the president of the Discovery Institute, the primary backer of ID, has a different view of the study.

"A better explanation for the high percentage of doubters of Darwinism in America may be that this country's citizens are famously independent and are not given to being rolled by an ideological elite in any field," Chapman said. "In particular, the growing doubts about Darwinism undoubtedly reflect growing doubts among scientists about Darwinian theory. Over 640 have now signed a public dissent and the number keeps growing."

Nick Matzke of the National Center for Science Education in California points out, however, that most of the scientists Chapman refers to do not do research in the field of evolution.

"If you look at the list, you can't find anybody who's really a significant contributor to the field or anyone who's done recognizable work on evolution," Matzke said.

Scott says the news is not all bad. The number of American adults unsure about the validity of evolution has increased in recent years, from 7 to 21 percent, but growth in this demographic comes at the expense of the other two groups. The percentage of Americans accepting evolution has declined, but so has the percentage of those who overtly reject it.

"I was very surprised to see that. To me that means the glass is half full,” Scott said. “That 21 percent we can educate."