Almost half of Americans believe God created humans

[illflem]

Only a third of Americans Say Evidence Has Supported Darwin's Evolution Theory

http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/login.aspx?ci=14107

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. And almost everyone in the Middle Ages believed the earth was flat.

Doesn't make it so.

See humanity hasn't progressed much in the past millenium.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. I don't think it's "humanity" so much as "America"...

that hasn't progressed. It's hard to believe that these stats would stand up in a poll of western european societies, for example.

[SlackJawedYokel]

22. I'm hard pressed to believe

the rest of the world is much better given that Christianity doesn't even encompass 1/3rd of the worlds population.

What do Africans, Hindus, Arabs and Chinese believe?

Cletus

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Yes. And I think he started with a one-celled organism and worked

his way up to us through evolution.

[SlackJawedYokel]

21. Yea, but...

it's the stuff *just before* the one-celled organisms that are the intriguing parts.

Carbon deposits on crystalline lattices... fascinating.

Cletus

[The Backlash Cometh]

29. I believe he made the universe on the first day, otherwise

Adam and Eve would have been suspended in air for a day or two. Therefore, it's safe to assume that carbon deposits on crystalline lattices came first.

[greenman3610]

28. this pollster is a boob

if you ask the question that way, I would answer yes,
tho I am a complete believer in Evolution.

Journalists are morons.

[regnaD kciN]

33. Read the article -- that wasn't the way he phrased it...

Actually, what 45% of respondents beleived was that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago." :crazy:

Of course, that means that a 55% majority doesn't believe that, but still...

I would have to say, though, that I have some question about a survey where 33% are inerrantists (those who believe that every word of the Bible is literally true). While there are a large bloc of fundamentalists that hold to inerrancy, I would estimate them as no more than 20% of all Christians in the U.S., which would be a smaller group than the general population. I wonder exactly how the question was phrased -- while the statement in the survey was given as "the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word," I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that a large portion of the positive respondants only heard and reacted to the first eight words. If I were running a survey, I'd want to drop "the Bible is the actual word of God" (which I suspect a lot of Christians would reflexively assent to), and simply make the question "the Bible is to be taken literally, word for word." I bet you'd see the percentage drop rather quickly.

For that matter, I wonder how many people in the original question only reacted to the "God created human beings" part, instead of the "...pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago" at the end.

[rpannier]

3. You can belive and God and believe in Evolution.

I know many people who do.

[Pepper32]

16. Yep, I Agree n/t

[SlackJawedYokel]

24. Well sure.

But I'm betting that 50% of Americans also believe in some version of the literalness of the Bible, too.

I wonder how many of them know that goodly portions of it are completely at odds with archeological evidence?
And would this even make any difference?

Cletus

[Deja Q]

4. How many of them agree with Adam and Eve?

After all, if they were the first two humans ever, then every time we "have relations", we're having INCEST.

[regnaD kciN]

34. Wrong...

...Adam and Eve (who didn't really exist, but whatever...) were neither parent nor child of the other, nor did they have a common biological parent who would make them siblings.

Of course, that raises the question of where, considering that Adam and Eve only had three children, all males, the recorded wives of their two surviving sons came from.

;-)

[azoth]

43. oh my gawd - This is a true zen moment!

Brainy smurf, jokey smurf, harmony smurf, vanity smurf, handy smurf...and smurfette.

I cannot beLIEVE I've been in the dark all this time.

[datasuspect]

5. argumentum ad populum

Argumentum ad Populum (popular appeal or appeal to the majority): The fallacy of attempting to win popular assent to a conclusion by arousing the feeling and enthusiasms of the multitude.

http://philosophy.lander.edu/logic/popular.html

[kedrys]

6. "The rest say they don't know enough to say."

And as long as we have people like Ron Paige and his ilk making sure nobody in this country gets a real education, it'll stay that way. :grr:

[Old and In the Way]

7. Covering one's bets.............

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. You can believe in both

what people have trouble with is a lack of the basic understanding that when they say they 'believe in God', what they are really doing is believing in a particular concept of God. And these concepts change. In fact, I think one of the reasons for so much conflict and controversy today is that some people's concepts of God are changing while others are not.

My concept of God is that God is everything-the subatomic particle, the space between things, light, and the scientific laws that regulate the universe. So in my concept, God created humans because God is Darwin's theory of evolution, God is the DNA, God is natural selection.

[Crunchy Frog]

18. That's pretty much how I see it too.

However, I think that surveys have shown that a majority of Americans believe the literal biblical account of creation and reject any notion of Darwinian evolution, even one that encompasses a belief in some form of divinity.

[SlackJawedYokel]

19. I'm continually impressed with the human ability

to believe in contradictory and mutually exclusive concepts without their heads exploding.

And these concepts change. In fact, I think one of the reasons for so much conflict and controversy today is that some people's concepts of God are changing while others are not.
Amen! Sing it!
Karen Armstrong very clearly documented the various definitions of "god" as used in the bible... their history and influences and how that definition has changed once again.
(in the sense that the current version of god is "knowable" via application of the modern logos)

My concept of God is that God is everything-the subatomic particle, the space between things, light, and the scientific laws that regulate the universe.
Is there a term for this belief, ie., "theism", "deism", etc.?

So in my concept, God created humans because God is Darwin's theory of evolution, God is the DNA, God is natural selection.
So you're not really basing your belief on any historical theological antecedents?

Cletus

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

31. I'm basing my concept

on some direct mystical experiences I've had in the course of my life.

[SlackJawedYokel]

42. Cool.

I'm a strong atheist for the very same reason!

:D
Cletus

[yorkiemommie1]

27. me too

and all during 12 years of attending various catholic schools and parishes, not one teacher or priest, or nun ever made an issue of either. i guess i was lucky way back then.

[regnaD kciN]

35. You can believe in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God and evolution...

...although there are many who would disagree with the metaphysical, social, and political conclusions -- i.e. "evolutionism" -- that many unjustifiably draw from scientific evolution itself.

However, what you can't do is believe in Biblical inerrancy and evolution, for inerrancy demands belief that God created the world and all life forms in it out of nothing in six literal days, and, specifically, that humans were created separately from and have no ties whatsoever to animals.

[Ms_Mary]

10. Evolution and Creation are not mutually exclusive. n

[Peggy Day]

12. Amen nt

[SlackJawedYokel]

13. In what ways are they not?

I'm guessing that all depends on how you define Creationism.
Or were you referring to Creation in the sense that "God created everything"?

In that sense, IMO, you are correct.
Until a more compelling theory explaining this event comes along, of course.

Unfortunlately, this position is merely pushing the God of the Gaps as far back as it can go.

Cletus

[Ms_Mary]

30. They only oppose each other if you take the Bible *literally*

Many of us don't. Many of us think it was laid out in story form as a 7 day process just to give the audience in that time period something they could understand. The science was unknown. Therefore you have a simplistic explanation.

Because of this literal interpretation, a lot of people feel that Evolution attempts to contradict the existence of God. I disagree. Who am I to define what time means to God? It makes wonderful sense for creation to be able to evolve and for animals to be able to adapt to the changing environment and their surroudndings. That's my humble opinion.

[Zynx]

46. You can believe God created the mechanisms for evolution to take place.

I personally believe something along those lines, though there is much yet to be proven about the origin of many species.

[SlackJawedYokel]

11. A million people doing

a silly thing doesn't make it any less silly.
Opus the Penguin, paraphrased.

Now if only those 150 million people could make their god appear and provide evidence for their belief, I'd care.

I must say that I'm happy to see that so many folks do understand Darwin well enough to acknowledge the validity of that theory.

But what happened to the other 20%?
What in the world do *THEY* believe?
lol

(obsequiousness to the Old One Who Cannot Be Named, in advance)

Cletus

[THUNDER HANDS]

14. it doesn't matter what you believe, it matters what you know

I know what God is supposed to be. I know what the theory of evolution is supposed to be.

Whether or not I believe in either is immaterial.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Scientific illiteracy is an epidemic in this country.

I don't see how our leaders believe we can hold onto our superpower status, while destroying the scientific basis for that status. I guess they think God has decreed it and will continue to maintain it for us.

[TN al]

17. Did anyone see "Now with Bill Moyer" last night?...

...He covered this exact topic. I can't remember it well enough to do anything but paraphrase what was said but I came away thinking that I would be embarrassed to admit to being a Christian, or most any other religious adherent. Whenever I am asked what denomination I am I still feel insecure telling them that I find Christianity to be nothing more than a population of superstitious zealots picking and choosing verses from the bible and ignoring others to suit whatever point they want to make at the time. Perhaps there are others in the poll who feel the same way.

[Walt Starr]

20. Homo Sapiens has yet to evolve into an intelligent species

The evidence supports this assertion.

[SlackJawedYokel]

26. Haha... I can agree with that.

I'm getting tired of the waiting, quite frankly.

Cletus

[whalerider55]

23. and the catholic church

condemned Galileo for 400 years because he said G-d created the sun and we in turn rotate around it...

they did say they regret the incident, recently, however, proving that they believe in redemption.

as for me, i see the big bang theory utterly consistent with the work of G-d.

here's the logic.

if you take the colloquial meaning of the word bang, that is, to have sexual intercourse, then it follows that a big bang- a really super-duper, earth-moving, pass-out and wake up purring, toe-curling moment when the big spirit (G-d) and his/her date, who ever it might have been (and I have my suspicians) really got it on and reached the "apex" as it were, the biggest "o" in all the history of everything, then isn't it just possible, or in the case of pagan fertility beliefs likely, that there would be a by-product of some affirmative sort, such as the creation of time and space, which in turn lead to a lot of little bangs, some of which in turn lead to other types of creative byproducts.

this is the way it has been in my life; a big bang and a lot of little bangs, some of which (two) have been productive, many of which were a great way to pass an evening or a blizzard, And if as the good book says we are created in the image of the big spirit, then aren't we entitled to some big bang(s) and other little bang(s) that will have intended and unintended byproducts, some of which will seem miraculous, some ridiculous, and some merely unhygienic?

i call this my "Hide the Salami" COsmology.

Have i offended everybody? If not, let me know, i still have some ammo left....

:P

[livinginphotographs]

38. As an agnostic...

I find your theory incredibly funny. It would explain a lot, that humans are nothing but an embarrassing cum-stain on the sheets. :P

Do you mind if I use it to antagonize some of the fundies I know?

[whalerider55]

44. livinginpho's

well, harrumph.

i'm used to my scholarship being ridiculed.

use it as you will, simply credit it to my nom de plume, Professor Hugo Flathead.

Perhaps you've heard of my book "My Salami, My Universe? ?"


Professor Hugo Flathead
University of Southern North Dakota,
Hoople, South Dakota

[JanMichael]

25. And only about 50% know that the Euro is the EU common currency;

About 25% can name Kofi Annan as the head of the UN; About 30% of all voting eligible Americans actually got out of bed, dressed themselves (or were dressed by an orderly), and voted for Bush; and in a 2000 survey about 19% of Americans polled thought that the tax cuts aimed at the top 2% of the richest Plutocrats would go to them; USA Today poll had 70% of Americans believing that the Occupation of Iraq was going well...

Your point is?

[catbert836]

32. I believe God created humans

but He used other ways than Genesis to do it.

[papau]

37. I agree :-) "God Created" does not mean I reject evolution - silly poll!

:-)

[catbert836]

45. Right on!

[George_S]

36. Oops, editing out my dumbness

It's hard to tell who believes what. Anyone have the real poll?

[UdoKier]

39. Maybe he did.

But disbelief in evolution is unbelievably ignorant.

[George_S]

40. This survey found that 79% of Americans believe there is a God, and that 6

This survey found that 79% of Americans believe there is a God, and that 66% are absolutely certain


Reducing "Social Desirability" Bias

These numbers – for belief in God and for attendance at churches, synagogues and mosques – are lower than those reported in many other surveys, we believe, because of the methods we use to measure them more accurately.

One of the problems with surveys where people are interviewed by people, whether face-to-face or by telephone, is that they may not tell the truth to an interviewer, if the truth is embarrassing or if another answer is more "socially desirable." This "social desirability" bias means that many surveys underreport the number of people who are homosexual, who don’t bathe or clean their teeth, who drink alcohol, or whose children are not immunized, for example. Socially desirable behavior, such as giving to charity, voting in elections and going to church are usually over reported.

Because our online surveys, such as this one, do not involve talking to interviewers, we regularly record lower levels of behavior (and belief) on topics where there is a "socially desirable" answer. We believe that the lower levels of belief in God, and the lower levels of church-going found in this survey are more accurate than the higher levels reported in telephone and in-person surveys.

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=408

[SlackJawedYokel]

41. Hehe.. as if *certainty* has any meaning.

I love that concept... "I believe in something that I cannot prove and I am absolutely certain in my belief!"

Head meet wall... bam, bam, bam.
:D

Cletus

[aka-chmeee]

47. Me Too!

I believe Man created God in his own image 10,000 years ago.
Wait! Did I get that right?
Yup! Think so.

[BonjourUSA]

49. And I hope you're happy to meet God in any mirrors

;)

[mike_c]

48. why in the hell...

...didn't I take the red pill? Jeez.