Majority of Republicans Don’t Believe in Evolution
According to a gallup poll, the majority of Republicans does not believe the theory of evolution to be true. Quite remarkable, one could say, is that “even among non-Republicans there appears to be a significant minority who doubt that evolution adequately explains where humans came from.”
Funny enough, “about a quarter of Americans say they believe both in evolution’s explanation that humans evolved over millions of years and in the creationist explanation that humans were created as is about 10,000 years ago.”
Some results:
Now thinking about how human beings came to exist on Earth, do you, personally, believe in evolution, or not?
Yes: 49%
No: 48%
Creationism, that is, the idea that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years
Definitely true: 39%
Probably true: 27%
Probably false: 16%
Definitely false: 15%
Furthermore, 38% said that they believed that “beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process,” against 43% of Americans who said to believe that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so].”
Furthermore, 30% of Republicans believe in evolution, against 68% who believe that God created mankind in his its present shape. Those numbers are 61% and 37% for Independents respectively; and 57% and 40% for Democrats.
I have to admit that I find the results of this poll to be utterly amazing. In Europe, especially in the Netherlands - I am quite sure - the far majority of people have accepted evolution as the explanation of how mankind came into existence. Of course, there are Christians like me who believe that God guided the process, but most Dutch Christians do - as far as I know - believe that mankind evolved.
This means, of course, that it does not hurt Republican candidates one bit when they say that they do not believe in evolution. It might hurt them with Independents, sure, but if they want to appeal to ‘the base’ it is probably best for them to say that they believe that God created mankind 10,000 years ago and that the theory of evolution is false.
Fascinating (and to me quite shocking).
I hate questions about whether or not people “believe” in evolution. Science doesn’t give a crap whether or not you believe in it.
However, people who claim not to “believe” in evolution should show some backbone and refuse flu shots and modern antibiotics.
Andy,
As I suspect you know, many of those who say they don’t believe in evolution do believe in microevolution, and therefore accept the science of antibiotic resistance and variations in influenza from year to year.
I don’t know which delusion is worse: Denying evolution all together, or picking and choosing when evolution does occur and when it does not.
Michael,
“Fascinating (and to me quite shocking).”
This gets back to previous comments on the meaning of liberalism in America. While non-Republicans did poorer than I’d hope here too, we do see a real difference.
Economic disputes as to whether the marginal tax rate should be a couple of points higher or lower no longer define liberal versus conservative in a country where the conservative mainstream denies the basis of modern biology.
How many of the 68% are evangelicals? Because we have 100 million evangelicals (about a third of the population), most of whom vote Republican. On this and other issues they come off as anti-science. I fear we are going back to the days of the Scopes trial.