Poll: Creationism Trumps Evolution

(CBS)  (This poll was conducted November 18-21, 2004.)

Americans do not believe that humans evolved, and the vast majority says that even if they evolved, God guided the process. Just 13 percent say that God was not involved. But most would not substitute the teaching of creationism for the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Support for evolution is more heavily concentrated among those with more education and among those who attend religious services rarely or not at all.

There are also differences between voters who supported Kerry and those who supported Bush: 47 percent of John Kerry's voters think God created humans as they are now, compared with 67 percent of Bush voters.

VIEWS ON EVOLUTION/CREATIONISM

God created humans in present form
All Americans
55%
Kerry voters
47%
Bush voters
67%

Humans evolved, God guided the process
All Americans
27%
Kerry voters
28%
Bush voters
22%

Humans evolved, God did not guide process
All Americans
13%
Kerry voters
21%
Bush voters
6%

Overall, about two-thirds of Americans want creationism taught along with evolution. Only 37 percent want evolutionism replaced outright.

More than half of Kerry voters want creationism taught alongside evolution. Bush voters are much more willing to want creationism to replace evolution altogether in a curriculum (just under half favor that), and 71 percent want it at least included.

FAVOR SCHOOLS TEACHING…

Creationism and evolution
All Americans
65%
Kerry voters
56%
Bush voters
71%

Creationism instead of evolution
All Americans
37%
Kerry voters
24%
Bush voters
45%

60 percent of Americans who call themselves Evangelical Christians, however, favor replacing evolution with creationism in schools altogether, as do 50 percent of those who attend religious services every week.

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This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 885 adults interviewed by telephone November 18-21, 2004. There were 795 registered voters. The error due to sampling could be plus or minus three percentage points for results based on all adults and all registered voters.

For detailed information on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys, click here.

[notreich]

The world is going to start worrying about US having nukes. If this poll were true it would be hard to over estimate how much that would worry the Europeans. If they thought that 51% of our population really believed that humans were just zapped into existence in an instant! In backward outposts like Scandanavia and Germany you are hard pressed to find a single person who believes that. At least educated and well-read Americans believe in evolution. That's something.

[popapiano]

I believe anyone should be free to believe anything they want. However, it's only fair that if you don't believe in science you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy its benefits. Which means say goodbye to almost everything in this scientific, highly technical civilization. No airplane rides, no cars, etc. Even agriculture uses science today to maintain high and affordable yields. Come on people. If you really believe what you say, then man up to reality and start looking for that dream cave.

[inketolstoy]

For many of us, it isn't about science vs. faith, it's about science and faith, pop. I believe in evolution, but not necessarily that all life evolved from a single organism. So I guess we get to fly in planes and enjoy the beautiful sunset God created for us.

[nearl451]

Darwin didn't believe it either, until faced with irrefutable evidence. Nothing to do with Human evolution, but.....

[garygirard27]

1) Evolution is fact, not theory!
2) Creationism, unlike evolution, has no basis in fact, and it's proponents, from various religious groups, all have a different version of how and when it was supposed to have happened!
3) A creator could very well have designed evolution into the plan, but who created the creator? Why did he/she hide himself so well? Did he/she distort the fossil record so cleverly as to try to throw us off with the inconsistencies? Pretty sick to try to get people to fail at being good!
4) Statistics can easily be arranged to show what the investigator wants to show.
5) It's easier for lazy people to just believe what they're told by others than to do a little reading and research on their own in order to seek the truth!
6) I live a good, decent life and don't bother anyone, but because I'm an agnostic (I don't believe it's possible for anyone to know for sure if there really is a God) the Roman Catholic church to which I used to belong tells me I'm going straight to hell without passing through purgatory because I don't believe in God!
7) In God we trust? No! In military might we trust! In food we trust! In jobs we trust! In shelter we trust! In entertainment we trust! In drugs we trust!
8) In religeous zealots we do not trust...wars and bloodshed in the name of religeon our statisticians tell us have caused more bloodshed and lives lost than all other wars combined!!
Amen!

[noloyalisti]

I myself believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster who created the earth. The reason I believe in Him is that we can't prove He exists. All those viruses and bacteria that evolve into new strains, those are being created by the FSM who manipulates them with his noodly appendages. Thank God for the all powerful FSM, we bow to your meatballs, yum. rAmen!

[dsmasterson]

Don't you mean "Thank Spaghetti"? :-)

[not_fooled_by_Righties]

Now we know why the American Empire is waning!

[lfitts2]

We now know why the American educational system is not worth much...the 'majority' want creationism taught and then they wonder why Johnny can't think in the scientific method. Checkmate