A new poll indicates that nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults believe in creationism – the belief that God created human beings.
Harris Interactive
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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!
You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.
I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.
People are complicated. Love is not.
We still have time to mess this up!
Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.
Nothing worth doing is easy.
Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?
We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.
Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.
It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.
Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.
Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.
Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.
“Squeaker” McCarthy
Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?
Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.
I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.
Everybody saw this coming.
The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.
Come on, man.
They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.
Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.
If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.
Matt
This just in: people are dumb. The American people in particular, but I suspect the phenomenon is more widespread than that.
Anderson
Well, I mean goddam: we don’t teach anyone evolution in school, and then we’re surprised that they don’t believe in it?
Compuglobalhypermeganet
As much as I like Chucky K., I would argue that you can teach the vast majority of biology at the university level without believing solely in evolution — my father-in-law did it for 25 years, and was handsomely commended for his expertise.
From the next paragraph of the article:
So it appears that most of those who believe in evolution aren’t as closed-minded and haughty about it as some would have you believe. Like the people are saying: Teach both theories, and stop acting so certain and arrogant on both sides. Since when are schools afraid of giving people too much information?
Actually, the one thing I’m absolutely certain of is that the public schools will do a generally shit job of teaching whatever theory, and no student will have much of an idea about the relevant debate unless they study further in college and on their own.
metalgrid
I highly recommend Ron Bailey’s take on this over at Reason.
SeesThroughIt
Unfortunately, that’s about the long and short of it. With the inmates running the asylum, I worry about the future of this country.
metalgrid
Oops, I hit post accidentally.
Also regarding this comment:
Trends in the data. I love it. It appears that while many in the population (according to this survey) may ‘reject’ evolution, the majority of Conservative pundits do not.
Ron’s article addresses this phenomenon. My take is that one must certainly laud this crop of conservatives for being a most pragmatic lot, who are able to implement a social-darwinist class structure on their very own creationist followers. The irony is truely delicious. Bravo!
over it
So, if we were to start teaching ‘creationism’ in school….would we also have to start teaching the beliefs of other religions as it applies to the beginning of man?
I mean, what do the Hindus believe? Hari Krishnas? The Muslims and the Jews pretty much believe the same thing as Christians(I think). What is the Wiccan theory? There are any number of religions who have differing beliefs as to how we got here.
Those theories should be taught in their respective churches, temples, mosques, synagogues, sacred forests….NOT in our public schools.
Am I missing something here?
Matt
Hey, why don’t we teach that the earth is the center of the universe, too? Let the kids decide whether heliocentrism is true or not. After all, no danger in giving kids too much information.
Creationism (and ID) aren’t science. There are no testable hypotheses. There is nothing to teach outside of a comparative religions class.
Compuglobalhypermeganet
Because heliocentrism has been proved false. Geez, I never asked for the schools to teach that 2+2=5, either. Brilliant argument.
Compuglobalhypermeganet
Whoops! Edit!
Because heliocentrism has been proved true. Geez, I never asked for the schools to teach that 2+2=5, either. Brilliant argument.
jcricket
What’s truly sad is to watch the stammering, hemming and hawing of these supposed intellectuals/Republican intelligensia. I suspect that most of these people who “disagree” with evolution (outside of Buchanan) actually know they’re lying, they just can’t admit it because it will “offend” a large segment of the Republican base.
As Digby puts it:
John: What is it like for you to see your party devolve into equivocating over basic scientific truths/facts? See Evolution, Global Warming, Terri Schiavo, Plan B medication, or take your pick of any number of politically motivated changes to scientific studies (mercury’s effects, sex education statistics, logging rules) in the past 5 years.
Aren’t Republicans always the ones bitching and moaning about the left’s so-called “moral relativism”? What’s more relativistic than bending scientific studies to political whims? Or attempting to introduce doubt into areas of science where there is none?
Matt
Wow, you really took my hyperbole about bad science being taught to task. Good work. Care to address the second, more substantive part of my claim? That creationism (or ID) has no scientific merit or even properties that one could address in a scientific way? That teaching it in a science class makes about as much sense as teaching alchemy?
Compuglobalhypermeganet
No, I think all that you would have to say to assuage those who want multiple theories taught is that there are other theories that profess intelligent design. You could go over the major religions and their theories, and make it clear that there are other groups that have other ideas (you can read about them on them there internets!)
It would take a few minutes — no need to go into tremendous detail. Heck, from what I remember from high school biology, we “covered” the entire Theory of Evolution in about an hour. Let’s not go nuts now about being completists.
Matt
You dismissive attitude about the science behind evolution makes a whole lot more sense now.
StupidityRules
As long as my beliefs also gets taught I’m all for teaching creationism in school.
JG
Comp must have went to high school in Tennessee.
You can easily be taught about evolution without being subverted. You don’t have to believe it and its not taught to convince. Its simply one of many scientific theories put forth to teach the scientific method. Part of the greek language course at one of the high schools I went to involved reading The Illiad in greek. To pass the course you didn’t have to demonstrate a belief that the battle of Troy actually happened or that Cyclops’ are really dumb.
Matt
Hey, I went to high school in Tennessee, and I still understand that discussions of invisible beings tinkering with nature in unknowable/undetectable ways ain’t science.
Compuglobalhypermeganet
I never dismissed anything, so your arrogance is misplaced.
LOL! Nope, Illinois.
over it
Now, I don’t know if the battle of Troy ever happened….but….have you ever met a smart Cyclops? ;)
albedo
“Teach both theories, and stop acting so certain and arrogant on both sides. Since when are schools afraid of giving people too much information?”
Creationism and ID are scientific theories in the same sense that reincarnation is a scientific theory, i.e. not. The theory of Evolution is widely regarded as a scientific truth, although there is still much to learn about it. Maybe the “theory” part is throwing you off:
“A few words need to be said about the “theory of evolution,” which most people take to mean the proposition that organisms have evolved from common ancestors. In everyday speech, “theory” often means a hypothesis or even a mere speculation. But in science, “theory” means “a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed.” as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it. The theory of evolution is a body of interconnected statements about natural selection and the other processes that are thought to cause evolution, just as the atomic theory of chemistry and the Newtonian theory of mechanics are bodies of statements that describe causes of chemical and physical phenomena. In contrast, the statement that organisms have descended with modifications from common ancestors–the historical reality of evolution–is not a theory. It is a fact, as fully as the fact of the earth’s revolution about the sun. Like the heliocentric solar system, evolution began as a hypothesis, and achieved “facthood” as the evidence in its favor became so strong that no knowledgeable and unbiased person could deny its reality. No biologist today would think of submitting a paper entitled “New evidence for evolution;” it simply has not been an issue for a century.”
– Douglas J. Futuyma, Evolutionary Biology, 2nd ed., 1986
Matt
And you continue your delicate waltz around my larger question, as stated earlier…
BinkyBoy
Compuglobalhypermeganet: Where do you suggest we teach Creationism and/or ID? In a Science class? What would be the reason.
Go to church, learn about Creationism and ID (if your church chooses to teach you such hedonistic advanced thoughts) and go to school to learn about evolution.
It doesn’t mean that evolution definately points to the origins of man, it just points out that evolution is a natural occurance in the world around us and is scientifically provable. As for the origins of man, let the students decide for themselves after that.
Or else we have this question on a test:
Man evolved from: (a) apes (b) protazoa (c) fish (d) Republicans.
Creationism and ID are not scientific theories, no matter how much you try to wrap ID in the cloakings of theory and big words.
bs23
Perhaps ID should be part of science lectures, along with a question on the exit exam: Is ID science?
Even if it were testable, I still find it laughable. Human beings are so complex, the human body so improbably intricate, that….(wait for it!)….there must be something more complex out there which created it!
bs23
Perhaps ID should be part of science lectures, along with a question on the exit exam: Is ID science?
Even if it were testable, I still find it laughable. Human beings are so complex, the human body so improbably intricate, that….(wait for it!)….there must be something more complex out there which created it!
Jess
This survey seems out of whack to me…has anyone checked the methodology on it? (Since we’re discussing evidence and scientific method and all…)
albedo
I don’t find ID laughable in the terms of personal belief systems. Although I place no stock in it, I can certainly see the appeal, and even some respected physicists (see Paul Davies’ “The Mind of God”) have expressed similar beliefs when trying to explain how the universe originated.
What I find do laughable, however, is teaching ID and evolution side by side in public schools as if they’re valid, competing scientific theories. Wait, no, I find it distressing and sad. It elevates spiritual conjecture to the realm of hard science, and correspondingly diminishes the stature of provable scientific thought.
Kimmitt
Wow, it’s almost as though conservative elites are profoundly out of touch with the folks who make up the vast majority of the movement and are therefore constantly offended when liberals bring up such unpleasantness.
valC
Creationists have been very successful at defining the debate. They’ve declared that you have to choose either God or evolution, and most Americans will choose God. Until the scientific community convinces the public that this nonsense we’ll continue to see poll results like this.
Sojourner
The fundies are doing a great job of undermining our education system, thus producing more uneducated people willing to believe their BS about Terri Schiavo and global warming. How very sad.
mac Buckets
The teacher’s unions are doing a great job of undermining our education system, thus producing more uneducated people willing to believe the Democrats’ empty rhetoric which hides their lack of ideas.
Bob
An interesting article on suicide bombers but touches on why people believe the craziest things when packaged as religion:
What happened to the theory about the earth being on the back of a giant turtle?
Bob
Can’t get the link thing to work, but copy it and put it in your thingamajig:
http://www.discover.com/issues/oct-03/departments/featdialogue/
Sojourner
It’s not the teacher’s union that wants to teach creationism and re-define science to include Christian beliefs.
Nice try but not even close.