68% of Republicans do not believe in evolution

[InfiniteNow]

Remember... YOU decide...

 

 

 

Poll: Most Republicans Reject Evolution, Gallup Survey Finds 68% Of Republicans Disbelieve Scientific Explanation Of Creation - CBS News

The three Republican presidential candidates who indicated last month that they do not believe in evolution may have been taking a safe stance on the issue when it comes to appealing to GOP voters.

 

A Gallup poll released Monday said that while the country is about evenly split over whether the theory of evolution is true, Republicans disbelieve it by more than 2-to-1.

 

Republicans saying they don't believe in evolution outnumbered those who do by 68 percent to 30 percent in the survey. Democrats believe in evolution by 57 percent to 40 percent, as do independents by a 61 percent to 37 percent margin.

 

The poll also said that those who go to church often are far likelier to reject evolution than those who do not. Republicans are likelier than Democrats or independents to attend church services, according to Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll.

 

At the GOP's first presidential debate last month, the 10 candidates were asked which of them did not believe in evolution. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo raised their hands.

 

The Gallup survey, conducted May 21 to 24, involved telephone interviews with 1,007 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

 

 

 

 

Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution

 

The data in this analysis were measured in the context of questions about the origin and development of human beings. It is apparent that many Americans simply do not like the idea that humans evolved from lower forms of life. This appears to be substantially based on a belief in the story of creation as outlined in the Bible -- that God created humans in a process that, taking the Bible literally, occurred about 10,000 years ago.

 

Americans who say they do not believe in the theory of evolution are highly likely to justify this belief by reference to religion, Jesus Christ, or the Bible. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between high levels of personal religiosity and doubts about evolution.

 

Being religious in America today is strongly related to partisanship, with more religious Americans in general much more likely to be Republicans than to be independents or Democrats. This relationship helps explain the finding that Republicans are significantly more likely than independents or Democrats to say they do not believe in evolution. When three Republican presidential candidates said in a May debate that they did not believe in evolution, the current analysis suggests that many Republicans across the country no doubt agreed.

[InfiniteNow]

The data from several recent Gallup studies suggest that Americans' religious behavior is highly correlated with beliefs about evolution. Those who attend church frequently are much less likely to believe in evolution than are those who seldom or never attend. That Republicans tend to be frequent churchgoers helps explain their doubts about evolution.

 

The data indicate some seeming confusion on the part of Americans on this issue. 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.

[InfiniteNow]

This is not really aligned with the opening subject of this thread, however, it is about the debate.

 

YouTube and CNN are sponsoring a debate where ~30 second videos are submitted by John Q. Public asking questions of the candidates. While some questions will clearly be single-minded, and those chosen for presentation to the candidates will be hand selected, what do you think of this process?

 

 

Within the article, some examples are linked:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/us/politics/23youtube.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

The first of a new kind of presidential debate is scheduled for Monday night, one in which members of the general public pose questions to the candidates via homemade video. The debate is the latest front in the candidates’ running battle to keep up with the fast-paced changes wrought by the Internet on politics.

 

People have sent in more than 2,000 online videos to YouTube.com, where they are posted. CNN, which is broadcasting the debate in English and in Spanish on CNN En Español, will determine which two or three dozen videos it shows during the two-hour forum, which starts at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The candidates, who will assemble in Charleston, S.C., will be able to watch the videos on a giant screen or on monitors at their lecterns.

[sanctus]

Not living in the US I have no idea of the numbers how many independent, republicans and democrats are there? What is the overall percentage of the population believing or not?

By the way slowly it is getting also to europe...heard some things about school-policies in Poland...

[Zythryn]

Judging simply from the last couple of presidential elections, the USA is roughly split; Republicans 45%, Democrats 45%, Independants 10%. I hope there are actually more independants, but that is a very rough guess.

As a side note, I really really really would like to see what the actual question was when they give the results. The few times I have seen the actual questions it seemed to me they were phrased in such a way to favor getting exactly the answer they wanted.

For example, in this case, I would agree that evolution does little to explain creation. Of course, evolution is not a theory about abiogenisis, it is about how that life changes and species develop over time.

[freeztar]

As a side note, I really really really would like to see what the actual question was when they give the results. The few times I have seen the actual questions it seemed to me they were phrased in such a way to favor getting exactly the answer they wanted.

 

Very good point Zyth. I hope you are right in your assumption. Otherwise, it's a much scarier world than I once thought...:)

[Qfwfq]

One scary thing is that the new Pope has ranted against Darwin too.

[InfiniteNow]

One scary thing is that the new Pope has ranted against Darwin too.

 

Well, he IS infallible. :)

 

 

Polarizing society fundamentally. :)

[C1ay]

I think we should vaccinate the people that don't believe in evolution with last year's flu vaccine so we'll have more of this year's vaccine available for the people that do believe in evolution :)

 

P.S. I noticed a blooper in the original article. The title says, "Poll: Most Republicans Reject Evolution" but the byline right beneath it says, "Gallup Survey Finds 68% Of Republicans Disbelieve Scientific Explanation Of Creation". Now I wonder, was the poll about evolution or was it about creation?

[freeztar]

I think we should vaccinate the people that don't believe in evolution with last year's flu vaccine so we'll have more of this year's vaccine available for the people that do believe in evolution :evil:

 

:)

Good one. :)

[TheFaithfulStone]

But, but but... that goes against my long held belief that Republicans are evil and Democrats are stupid. (ergo, bipartisanship is evil and stupid.)

 

I reject your study as being contrary to my established belief system!

 

TFS

[InfiniteNow]

Now I wonder, was the poll about evolution or was it about creation?

 

From the link below, I've summarized the questions and responses into the attached Word file:

 

Majority of Republicans Doubt Theory of Evolution

 

 

 

 

[freeztar]

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

Definite-ly true 39%

Probably true 27%

Probably false 16%

Definite-ly false 15%

No opinion 3%

Total true 66%

Total false 31%

 

2007 Jun 1-3[/quOTE]

 

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...:shrug:

[InfiniteNow]

66% of those surveyed answered in the affirmative that: "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."

 

These people shouldn't be allowed to vote. :ebomb:

 

 

Scratch that. These people shouldn't be able to breed. :shrug:

[Zythryn]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...:shrug:

I don't either. After seeing those numbers, I do know I definately need a drink:beer-fresh:

[TheFaithfulStone]

Scratch that. These people shouldn't be able to breed.

 

You might be able to convince them of that, since as far as they know, their proportion of the population would never decrease. :shrug:

 

TFS

[Qfwfq]

Well, he IS infallible. :shrug:

So was his predecessor.

 

These people shouldn't be allowed to vote. :doh:

 

 

Scratch that. These people shouldn't be able to breed. :doh:

I'd be OK if they were only prevented from teaching their children. :hihi: :xx: