Why do only half of Americans accept evolution?

Question

In Darwin's time there was a relative lack of evidence supporting his theory, but he still found a considerable amount in fields like biogeography, embryology, and paleontology. Now, advances in science have added new evidence in those fields, as well genetics, microbiology, immunology, and a host of others.

Evolutionary principles have led to better treatments for diseases such as leukemia and AIDS, and speciation has been witnessed in scientific experiments involving short-generation species such as fruit flies. Also, fossils of "transitional species" such as tiktaalik continue to emerge as predicted.

Thus far, opponents to evolution have focused vainly on undermining the research without providing a reasonable alternative.

So why is it that 51% of Americans don't accept evolution? If we're really still in such a Dark Age-mentality, why don't we also still believe that the world is flat, that the sun revolves around it, and that literate women should be burned at the stake?

Answer 1

One of the defects of our great country is the absence of national educational requirements. Local school boards and states control the curriculum. In the Bible Belt, evolution is probably poorly taught if at all. Many Christians are homeschooling their children to better brainwash them. When Darwin wrote Origin of the Species 99.999% of the people were probably creationists. That percentage has shrunk to 90%. Moreover, theists in America are equally divided between Theistic Evolution (dumb) and Fundamentalism (dumber). Progress is being made, albeit slowly.

Answer 2

For the most part it has to do with the idea that evolution in a nut shell says we are animals and not special. I mean, from a religious stand point, the human being is the crown jewel of God's creation and so when evolution comes along and say "nah, that isn't true too" (as related to the Capernicus days when religious doctrine thought we were the centre of the universe) it gets people upset because that was the one sacred thing that all humans need .... to feel loved...that there is an "eye in the sky" looking out for our needs and will punish those that wrong them. Evolution in a way says: "your all on your own"...Ouch, that won't sit well with the religious..

And another damning thing is that if evolution is real (and i KNOW it is) then one must question if Adam and Eve (as protrayed by the Christian bible) did even exist and not put there by god...And if they did not exist then we have a whole chain of events that occur which culminiate into a big disaster as to whether Jesus really died for our sins....specifcially the ultimate sin thrusted upon us via Eve in the garden of eden. So to accept evolution is to admit that Genesis never happened and thus Jesus either didnt exist or that it was for a waste of time to die on the cross.

From the uncermountable evidence in favor of Evolution i think in time the rest of society will wake up to the truth and accept where we really came from, regardless of how much it hurts ... we all have to leave our comfort cradle behind at some point.

Answer 3

I think it has less to do with religion and more to do with that it's a theory and some free-thinking people don't believe that evolution pertains to humans or exists at all. The earth's spherical reality, the fact that the sun is in the center of our solar system is not a theory - it's proven. That literate women are no longer burned at the stake is simply because men were found out and no longer hold that kind of power over women --- i think men were really very afraid of the potential of women and thus kept them 'dumb' for so long --- that's really too bad - Satan never rests, eh?

Answer 4

Simply because they can also reason out. Evolution theory propounded by Darwin is not an absolute one. There are many flaws like any other human made theories.

Just because they dont agree does not mean they are dumb, outdated etc.

The ancient Vedic Scriptures from India have better explanations for evolution. For example they say that evolution is from lower consciousness to higher consciousness. The soul keeps accepting bodies of higher consciousness till it reaches human form.

The Darwinian theory that man evolved from ape is not acceptbale. I cannot accept that my father was a human, his father was also human, his father was also a human..........but his father was an ape. Even if we accept that its true then what about so many species of apes which are still existing. How come they missed the bus of evolution?

Incidentally Vedic Scriptures have always called the earth bhugol (that means it is like a ball).

Answer 5

I was mystified when I learned that statistic. I still am.

The only way I can relate is to imagine living without logic. How else could one believe that there is such a thing as "Creation Science"?
What's worse is our president agrees, and was pushing Jesus when he was a governor:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/readings/jesusdaymemo.html

If it wasn't for the Catholics it would be closer to 100%. At least they are rational enough to agree with science.

Answer 6

First off, as is shown every single time a question about evolution is asked, people don't understand the difference between the layman's term "theory" and the scientific term "theory"--a scientific theory is indeed proven. Please, everyone, look up the definition of a scientific theory, and the term "falsification" while you're at it.

Second...someone sent me a video of Lewis Black a while back. I did not know before watching it that Lewis Black is Jewish, but he is, and he was railing against creationists for, as he put it, "interpreting our book" incorrectly. Granted, he's a comedian, but he made some very solid points about how the religion that gave us the book of Genesis generally believes in evolution.

Answer 7

It's because a great deal of the United States is fundamentalist Christian, and these preachers, for fear of evolution seemingly contradicting the first two chapters of Genesis, fight it with as much conviction as the Catholic Church fought Galelileo.

They fail to understand that if part of the Bible is allegory, that doesn't mean the rest must necessarily be.

Answer 8

Ok two things. I don't have time to go into all of you stuff.
1. There is an alternative. If there are too many holes in your idea, then it automatically defaults to us. So with deep respect, we don't have to build anything else up, we just have to show flaws in yours.
2. You are naming non biblical concepts that equate with the biblical story of creation. When people believed that stuff, the knowledge and truth of the Bible was actually repressed. It was man's ignorance and superstition that caused those ideas. And yes, they did manipulate the Bible to strike fear in the poor ignorant man. Fortunately those days are over and people are free to see how those ideas are wrong, and find out how the Bible is still right.

Answer 9

The first post really said it all. There isn't any real disagreement in the scientific community. Only in the public arena where the religionists insist that your soul depends on disbelief.

Idiocy still lives in America.

Answer 10

Its a red state phenomenon due to the influence of the fundamentalist churches. Back in the reality based world it isn't so much the case.