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½ of all Americans not evolving!

According to a recent Gallup poll, 46% of Americans believe that "God" created humans as told in the bible story. That compares to 44% in 1982. Add to that, believers in Intelligent Design came in 2nd at 32%, and believers in actual evolution were 3rd at 15%.

There was also a somewhat expected split between Republicans and Democrats - Among Repubs, 60% were creationist, but among Dems 41% were creationist (Does that average out to 46% of all Americans? Maybe Independents and Apathetics skew the averages)

Disappointing. I thought we were evolving faster than that. Inability to evolve is not a good long term strategy.

dodo bird 1626

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joseph P on June 3, 2012 at 10:31am

There was also a somewhat expected split between Republicans and Democrats - Among Repubs, 60% were creationist, but among Dems 41% were creationist (Does that average out to 46% of all Americans? Maybe Independents and Apathetics skew the averages)

There's a large independent segment, yes. Also, there are a lot more Democrats than Republicans, right now. The Tea Party assholes have driven off a lot of the moderate Republicans. The only way that the Republicans will win the presidency for the next 8 or 10 years is if they win damned near all of the independents or if all of the Democrats stay home. Alas, the Democrats are a lot less rabid and less likely to vote as a percentage.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on June 3, 2012 at 10:52am

Must be the Indies. Repub/Dem looks almost equal - not quite but not dramatically democratl. or here. - graph below, scale makes them look wider apart than they are.

Party Identification, Yearly Averages, Gallup Polls, 1988-2011

Another way of looking at it here.

Also, if people identify as belonging to a party or philosophy, but don't vote, do they exist? If they exist, do they matter? Once the ballots are counted, it's the winner who won. Except in Florida and Ohio.

Permalink Reply by Joseph P on June 4, 2012 at 7:49am

Dude, in a political election, 4% is HUGE. Obama won with a landslide victory. Something like 8 points. A 2% difference in the popular vote is more typical.

And yeah, if they can be coaxed out to the polls, they matter. The Democrats just haven't had anyone to inspire people to come out and vote, for a while. Gore and Kerry were both stiffs.

That's why Romney is most likely going to lose. His own party's base doesn't like him. Of course you had other problems with Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, and Bachman. Any of them would have sent something like 75% of the independent vote running screaming to Obama.

I'm currently registered independent, because you can pick either party in the primary, if you're registered independent. I've voted straight-ticket Democrat for at least the past 10 years. I went for some third-party people before that, but it's been a while.

Permalink Reply by Tammy S on June 3, 2012 at 10:36am

Independent here, or as my registration says, unaffiliated, actually it says UNA... :)

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on June 3, 2012 at 1:32pm

Maybe the numbers haven't change with respect to belief, but those who are "enlightened" and reality-based are now more open about it?

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Simeone on June 3, 2012 at 12:19pm

This means that 78 percent of Americans, if we accept these results, believe that god had some hand in the creation of the world. The fact that more than three quarters of Americans possibly accept as fact the biggest production of fiction of all time is the clearest indication yet as to why America is a struggling society. With so many people so easily convinced there is little question that the best lies will continue to produce winning politics and that the winning politics will continue being wrong for our future.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on June 3, 2012 at 1:32pm

It's pathetic, isn't it?

Permalink Reply by Steph S. on June 4, 2012 at 9:32am

I agree with you Jonathan. The fact that Americans aren't educated in science and instead believe in fairy tales does cause America to be a struggling society.

Permalink Reply by Tammy S on June 4, 2012 at 10:35am

I'm not so sure most Americans are being educated in science in public school systems, in our school we had a coach who taught football, life sciences and driver's education and I remember him complaining that he had to teach science when he didn't go to college to teach that subject...

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on June 10, 2012 at 9:17am

"Communism was a joke compared to The Fundies" How true, how true.

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Simeone on June 4, 2012 at 1:31am

That's the best word for it. How sad!

Permalink Reply by Jonathan Simeone on June 4, 2012 at 1:33am

That sounds correct to me. More atheists are willing to state their lack of belief.