
U.S. Public opinion polls
on
evolution & creationismHarris Polling data in 2013.
Beliefs by Americans of different faiths.

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2013: U.S. National Harris Poll showing breakdown by political affiliation, and age:
Results for the poll reported on 2013-DEC-18, based on a sample size of 2,250 American adults, were:
-
About evolution:
- 47% of respondents said that they believe in evolution -- apparently including those who believe in either theistic or naturalistic evolution.
- 29% said they don't believe in evolution.
- 25% were uncertain.
-
About creationism:
- 36% of respondents said that they believe in creationism,
- 31% said they don't believe in creationism.
- 33% were uncertain.
-
Belief by political affiliation:
- 36% of Republicans, 52% of Democrats and 51% of Independents believe in "Darwin's theory of evolution."
- 49% of Republicans, 30% of Democrats and 34% of Independents believe in creationism.
-
Belief by age of respondent:
- 49% of "Echo Boomers" (aged 18 to 36) believe in "Darwin's theory of evolution," as do 48% of Gen Xers (37 to 48), 45% of Baby Boomers (49 to 67), and 43% of Matures (68+)
- 33% of Echo Boomers (aged 18 to 36) believe in creationism as do 35% of Gen Xers (37 to 48), 38% of Baby Boomers (49 to 67), and 37% of Matures (68+)
-
Shift in belief from 2005 to 2013:
- Believers in Darwin's theory of evolution gained 5% in numbers.
- Believers in creationism decreased by 3%.
- These data are probably not statistically significant.
The Harris report stated:
"Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated." 1 If the respondents had been randomly selected, the margin of error would have been ~+mn~2.1 percentage points.

Beliefs among Americans of different religions and Christian groups:Wikipedia published the following graphic showing belief in evolution for Americans of different religions and faiths. 2 Data was derived from Pew Forum poll in 2007. 3 However, the data is probably fairly reliable for 2014 because teachings within various religions and denominations change very slowly.
2,3

Why do people hold these opinions?The Wichita Eagle and the Kansas City Star, surveyed 604
respondents on 1999-OCT-22 to 26. Kansas had been a target of much
interest and some ridicule after the state Board of Education dropped the
necessity of teaching evolution in its public schools. 4 Some
interesting comments by Kansans were published. As always, beliefs seem to
be derived from people's basic interpretation
of the Bible:
-
Auctioneer Gary Corwin said:
"I believe that the Lord God
created everything, just like the Bible says, I don't think we came
from apes."
Webmaster's note: Darwin was misquoted over a century ago by a reviewer of one of Darwin's books. He said that Darwin believed that
humans are the descendants of apes. Actually Darwin had written that humans and apes had
a common ancient ancestor. This misquote has remained active ever since.
-
Eugenie Scott is a spokesperson of the National Center for Science Education, which promotes
the teaching of evolution. He commented:
"It goes to the meaning and purpose of life. I think many
Americans believe that somehow they are less special to God if they
evolved from nonhuman animals."
Webmaster's
note: The main alternative to evolution is found in Genesis which
states that Adam came from dirt.
-
The Rev. Victor Calcote, pastor of Epworth United Methodist
Church in Wichita KS stated:
"I believe there is a God
that's in control of creation. I've never gotten hung up on how he
did it. ... I don't appreciate some of the
caricatures of Kansans. Just because our school board voted that way
doesn't mean we're [all] a bunch of bumbling idiots."
As is normal in media reports, liberal/progressive religious sources and secular sources were not considered. If someone who was a Unitarian Universalist, Humanist, Agnostic, Atheist, freethinker, or other secularist were
asked, they would probably comment that Genesis is a very beautiful
myth, but not a story that should be interpreted literally. They might suggest
that the
authors of Genesis lived in a pre-scientific era and simply adopted
creation legends from the surrounding Pagan Mesopotamian cultures. 

References used:The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
-
"Evolution in a new Harris poll," National Center for Science Education," 2013-DEC-18, at: http://ncse.com/
-
"Level of support for evolution," Wikipedia, as on 2014-JAN-29, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
-
"Religious Differences on the Question of Evolution," Pew Research, 2009-FEB-04, at: http://www.pewforum.org/
-
"Evolution in a new Harris poll," National Center for Science Education," 2013-DEC-18, at: http://ncse.com/

Copyright © 2010 to 2014 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Latest update: 2014-JUN-04
Author: B.A. Robinson

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