Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution

[Sean]

Next up on the "Shit even a four-year-old could tell you" Show - it rains in Washington.

[Arbuste]

Republicans are obviously idiots, but what's really sad is that 40% of the non-republican people doubt evolution as well. Americans have the reputation of being religious bigots, but I wonder how this poll would do in Western Europe. We have our share of morons. 50% of the total population might not be *that* bad. Go USA.

[voodoochile78]

Originally Posted by PerritoBites

When you mix orange juice and vodka you make a screwdriver. Drink enough screwdrivers and you will get drunk. Does this mean that orange juice has alcohol? Switch orange juice with republicans and vodka with religion. ?????? Profit.

You obviously missed the two impossible-to-miss bar charts where belief in evolution is broken down by both religious piety and partisan affiliation.

You also missed the memo where the religious positions on the following issues:
-Abortion
-Gay Rights
-Global Warming
-Contraception
-Evolution
-Stem Cell Research
-Religious Crusades
...are also the official platform of the Republican Party.

[PerritoBites]

Again... being republican has nothing to do with believing on evolution. What the graph tells me is that there are more religious people on the republican party. (oh, big surprise there...)

[voodoochile78]

Originally Posted by PerritoBites

Again... being republican has nothing to do with believing on evolution.

Someone hasn't been watching the Republican debates on TV....

And someone hasn't been reading newspapers of Republican school-board officials outlawing the teaching of evolution in whatever retarded red-state they happen to live in.

What the graph tells me is that there are more religious people on the republican party. (oh, big surprise there...)

As I said, on a large number of issues, the religious platform and the Republican platform are the same thing.

It's a give and take really. The Religious get the Republican party to act in their favor on social issues, and in return, the Republican Party gets millions of fuckheads to deny Global Warming so their friends in the Energy Industry can make more money.

[PerritoBites]

And someone hasn't been reading newspapers of Republican school-board officials outlawing the teaching of evolution in whatever retarded red-state they happen to live in.

Last time I checked they didn't outlaw evolution, they did however start teaching creationism. And yes, they are retarded for doing that.... but how is this a republican thing anyways? It was a religious issue.

It's a give and take really. The Religious get the Republican party to act in their favor on social issues, and in return, the Republican Party gets millions of fuckheads to deny Global Warming so their friends in the Energy Industry can make more money.

There is a Global warming thread if you want to talk about that. And like I said in that thread... I have yet to see someone denying Global Warming. So either stop making those claims or understand what Global Warming means and what the opposite side of the debate is saying. (you also have the option of providing the source of your claims)

[Borzak]

Because evolution is a word that's been politisized. I bet if you ask 20 people on this board to define it you get 20 different answers.

I'm willing to bet that if the question to those people were "Do you believe that species evolve" the answers would have been a lot different.

Maybe many of you are too young to remember the hot topic debates of the 70's about "evolution" were the theory was that man evolved from single cell organisms.

Many people believe species evolve which is really what "evolution" the process is.

However a lot of people don't believe that man "evolved" from a tadpole in the primodorial soup and became man - that "evolution".

[Zuuljin]

I agree, and I think the vast majority of people who dont believe it dont even understand it. Their the ones that ask questions like "If evolution is true, the how did the universe start? How did life start?" Their the ones who think dogs without flippers and horses without wings are reasons evolution is false. Their the ones who ask "If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes!?"

They just dont understand what it is their claiming is false.

[Dabamf]

Well voodoo, perrito is right *based on those graphs*. There are 2 factors possibly affecting belief in evolution: religion and political affiliation. The only way to prove what seems to cause a lack of belief in evolution, there needs to be a 2x2 graph that plots religion and political affiliation. I would be very interested in these.

And yea, it is pretty shocking that so many people don't believe in evolution.

Now that I think about it, I also want to see a believe x region graph.

[Torrid]

Admittedly I take too much pleasure in conservatist bashing, but I don't think taking such a confrontational approach is going to do anything more than push people away from your message..

Unless, of course, you just wanted to piss off some republicans. In that case, carry on.

[Soriak]

Originally Posted by Borzak

However a lot of people don't believe that man "evolved" from a tadpole in the primodorial soup and became man - that "evolution".

That's exactly the same... only in the US is there a distinction between micro and macro evolution, and it's a BS one made up only because micro evolution absolutely can't be denied. I wouldn't so much care, but some of your 'research' centers seem to be throwing money at European schools now in hopes of getting creationism accepted. And for some reason they actually have A LOT OF money to throw at this...

I can only thank my fellow voters for recently putting education under federal control here, or some back-ass state would probably join the BS "but it's just a THEORY" crowd - no doubt we have our conservative corners as well. One thing less to worry about... we were inches away from having stem cell research banned too, thankfully urban voters bothered to mail in their vote. (you'd think writing "YES" or "NO" on a piece of paper 4x a year was some incredible burden... the government even includes a booklet outlining the issue and providing the arguments from both sides in case you're too lazy to inform yourself.)

What does qualify the US as the most technologically advanced country on earth? Just curious.

Outstanding cell-phone and internet service?

[Soriak]

From Fox News in August of last year - not a bad read:

FOXNews.com - U.S. Lags Behind Europe, Japan in Acceptance of Evolution - Evolution | Human | Theory | Man | Paleontology

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 fundamentalists, 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 or 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 also declined, from 48 to 39 percent.

— 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.

Religious belief and evolution

The researchers also compared 10 independent variables — including religious belief, political ideology and understanding of concepts from genetics, or "genetic literacy" — among 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 beliefs — defined as belief in substantial divine control of the universe and the efficacy of frequent prayer — were more likely to reject evolution than Europeans with similar beliefs.

The researchers attribute the discrepancy to differences in how American Christian fundamentalists 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."

The latter view is generally shared by the Roman 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 votes — something 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 whom 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. Americans had a median score of 4 out 10 correct answers.

One of the statements was "All plants and animals have DNA." (The correct answer is "yes.")

Science alone is not enough

But the problem is more than one of education — it 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 Oakland, Calif.

"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 controversy in Dover, Pa., over the teaching of "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 creationists — they'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 in Seattle, the primary backer of intelligent design, 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 points out 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."

[voodoochile78]

Originally Posted by Torrid

Admittedly I take too much pleasure in conservatist bashing, but I don't think taking such a confrontational approach is going to do anything more than push people away from your message..

Unless, of course, you just wanted to piss off some republicans. In that case, carry on.

Looking at the graphs I posted, I can comfortably say "fuck Republican outreach," independents are looking pretty ripe for a Democratic landslide.

[Laladilya]

Originally Posted by PerritoBites

Again... being republican has nothing to do with believing on evolution.

That debate is why it is currently being pinned to the Republican party. I'm not positive it has been asked to the Democrat Candidates yet since I didn't watch all of the debates so far. I don't think anyone running on that side would disbelieve in evolution though. On a side note, I really cannot figure out what voters McCain is trying to appeal to in his run.

Fox News article was pretty good. Surprised me that it was from Fox News actually.

[voodoochile78]

Pretty sure it got asked of the Democrats too. 100% of Democratic candidates believe in evolution.

What was funny is that after that Republican Debate, some of those Republicans realized how bad they fucked up cause you can't win the Republican nomination if you're not a Caveman. So they had to go on TV and squirm about how they really believe in Creationism and shit.