zoogs Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I wonder what postgraduates in biology had to say about this... Are there similar statistics to compare to for other countries around the world? Link to comment
Ulty Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 Does anyone know what religion or specific church is out there today railing against science and evolution? I attend Mass weekly for several years now and I have to say that I can't remember once it being an issue during the readings or the homily. Almost the entirety of the opposition is attributed to a small percentage of varying Protestant denominations. The Catholic church has no issue with an old earth and evolutionary theory, nor does the Orthodox church, nor Jews, nor Christian spun cults, etc. That isn't to say all of those people practicing those faiths agree, but the official church positions vary from either affirming to neutral. Fundamentalism as a religious movement, taking the Bible literally and such, has only been around since the early 20th Century. I think it began in California, actually. The Scopes trial was the first major coming out party in the public eye for this sort of thing. Prior to that, most religious denominations did not regard science and religion to be at odds with each other. Darwin himself had no problem with religion and based his theories on (gasp) observations in nature. Most of Darwins friends were clergymen. Darwinism was not controversial at all when it first came out. But Fundamentalist denominations today are among the fastest growing churches in America. Source: My Sociology of Religion professor. Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 46% of Americans believe in Creationism From that survey, 67% of Americans who go to church regularly believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. Whatever these churches are saying in press clippings, in church, Sunday school, Bible study, etc, they're reinforcing a Young Earth/Creationist belief. Even these polls I take with a huge grain of salt. I have people call me all the time wanting me to take a survey. I just hang up. What kind of people sit there and listen to the actual question? Did the caller say...."Hello, would you like to take a survey on if you believe in creationism?" If something like that is said, then the people who are emotional about the topic and are out to prove their belief that the world was created 3000 years ago and science is hogwash are going to say....HELL YES I"LL TAKE IT..... I find it hard to believe that there are that high of percentage of people in America that believe the world is only 10,000 years old. Link to comment
JJ Husker Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 46% of Americans believe in Creationism From that survey, 67% of Americans who go to church regularly believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. Whatever these churches are saying in press clippings, in church, Sunday school, Bible study, etc, they're reinforcing a Young Earth/Creationist belief. Even these polls I take with a huge grain of salt. I have people call me all the time wanting me to take a survey. I just hang up. What kind of people sit there and listen to the actual question? Did the caller say...."Hello, would you like to take a survey on if you believe in creationism?" If something like that is said, then the people who are emotional about the topic and are out to prove their belief that the world was created 3000 years ago and science is hogwash are going to say....HELL YES I"LL TAKE IT..... I find it hard to believe that there are that high of percentage of people in America that believe the world is only 10,000 years old. This ^^^ plus you must factor in that at least 50% of our citizens are complete idiots. They're out there folks. Be afraid, be very afraid. Link to comment
The Dude Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I wonder what postgraduates in biology had to say about this... Are there similar statistics to compare to for other countries around the world? This chart depicts the public acceptance of evolution theory in 34 countries in 2005. Adults were asked to respond to the statement: "Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals." The percentage of respondents who believed this to be true is marked in blue; those who believed it to be false, in red; and those who were not sure, in yellow. A study of several such surveys taken since 1985 has found that the United States ranks next to last in acceptance of evolution theory among nations polled. Researchers point out that the number of Americans who are uncertain about the theory's validity has increased over the past 20 years. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060810-evolution.html Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Wow, we suck. Seriously. ...... Think about the polling process. Link to comment
zoogs Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I don't know, there's a lot that goes into that and I'm not familiar with the Gallup methodology. I suppose it's fair to look into this more and compare with other surveys, etc. Most of the data points to a relatively low science literacy level in the United States, no?...although I'm sure numbers vary. Granted, I am not sure how significant of an issue low literacy is as long as we still have an environment productive of the best innovation in the world, which (for now) we do. Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Seriously....look at the list of countries ahead of us and think about the people you know in real life and went to school with. Do you really think we are that much worse than everyone else? Link to comment
zoogs Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I'm not too sure what you're trying to say. America is a lot bigger than the people I know in real life and went to school with, and I haven't lived in any of the other countries on that list. The numbers are drastic, but how can I use what you're suggesting as a basis for dismissing them? I do wonder who the hell answers these surveys, though Link to comment
tschu Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Seriously....look at the list of countries ahead of us and think about the people you know in real life and went to school with. Do you really think we are that much worse than everyone else? Anecdotal evidence FTW! That chart, by the way, is shocking. I think this is hard-rooted in American culture, where "facts" are basically nonexistent. Political and religious spin is not based on hard evidence, rather; it is based on preconceived notions, propaganda, and money thrown at spreading ignorance. The Republican party is much better off spreading disinformation about Obamacare rather than coming up with a better idea on their own. The same goes with people who don't "believe" in evolution - if we spread enough false information, people will be more likely to "believe" it...and here we are. It's disappointing. Link to comment
The Dude Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 First, the researchers found that the effect of fundamentalist religious belief on opinions of evolution was almost twice as much in the U.S. as in Europe. Miller says the U.S. has a tradition of Protestant fundamentalism not found in Europe that takes the Bible literally and sees the Book of Genesis as an accurate account of the creation of human life. Link to comment
tschu Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Obviously goes back to the root of this thread, the educational system, as well. Not only do you get school districts actively trying to teach that evolution isn't a scientifically valid theory, but you get teachers who are afraid to teach the truth because of backlash of parents, you get students whose parents and churches try to teach them otherwise, etc. This country's infatuation with christian conservative values result in this type of ignorance. It's the same thing that causes our current state of bigotry regarding gay rights as well. Link to comment
tschu Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 And obviously my own personal views "cloud" my viewpoint as well. I certainly think that religion has a place in society and that many people's lives benefit from finding inspiration and hope from a higher power. Religion helps many people improve their lives and inspire them to help others. However, many other people use it as a crutch for bigotry, racism, discrimination against gays, an excuse to try to dispute scientific fact, etc etc. The irony of worshiping a god who loves all of creation while condemning a person for their sexual orientation is mind-blowingly retarded, and while I don't condone violence, I feel the urge to bitch-slap anyone in the face who uses the bible as a crutch for not being tolerant of gays. I wish society could reap the benefits of religion without having all of the drawbacks. 1 Link to comment
strigori Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Seriously....look at the list of countries ahead of us and think about the people you know in real life and went to school with. Do you really think we are that much worse than everyone else? Go hang out in a Wal-Mart for a few hours. Your threshold for how stupid people are might change. What you should notice about the countries on the list is only the bottom two have a strong reputation for being full of religious fundamentalists. At some point we really need to break this Puritan hangover we are still suffering from. Link to comment
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