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[Sblargh]

The strenght of religion in the face of changing times is always that gibberish can be interpreted however you desire.

 

[Polioliolio]

I mean as long as it means less religious zealots trying to run science out of school it's fine. It just all seems silly to me when you keep making changes to your beliefs because reality doesn't match the book you are cheery picking from. At what point do you start questioning the entire book and why you are continuing to follow it.

This Exactly.
All through history, God has been in the gaps. The gaps are remarkably small these days, but even recognizing that rainbows and lightning aren't god sneezing or whatever and have a scientific explanation, they still proudly place him into any existing gaps. Isn't it painfully clear what's going on here?

If you want to place god at the beginning of the universe, fine, just make sure to accept the science of reality as true, and don't stand in the way of education because of an ancient holy book.

 

[Oblivion]

.....you believe that God created the Earth billions of years ago?

But if you believe that the Earth is billions of years old (even if God was responsible), then you're not really a creationist.

Are you under some misconception that all christians think God created the earth 6,000 years ago?

I'm aware of that, but unfortunately, the only people that actually matter, are the ones who do believe that.

 

[Billy_Pilgrim]

That 38% will be examined in the future as the reason for the decline and fall of the USA.

 

[takriel]

38% of the American population are still dumbasses. Got it.

 

[Monocle]

Good, fuck religiously driven willful ignorance. Stop attacking science and lying to kids because a set of established facts doesn't square with your favorite worldview.

 

[SkeptiMism]

Wasn't there a study done that showed a belief in a higher power is hardwired in humans?

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Not really hardwired no, but it's a very common strong tendency to believe in something supernatural since we lived for ages without being able to explain so many things.

WTF...only 19% believe in evolution only...and it's taken 30 years for it to go up 10%.

It went up by over 100%. It went up by 10% percentage points.

Important difference.

About saying how monotheistic religion and evolution are not mutually exclusive, I wouldn't be so sure.
Evolution demonstrates a pretty complete theory of how humans came to be the way they are, and any introduction of god would have to pretty much have this hypothesis:
"God knew that if he let nature take its course humans will eventually evolve, i.e. directed comets containing water to earth, killed predators about to kill the ancestors of all humans, etc.". The issue with that is that there is absolutely no need for good in that story, you can drop him and it'll make the same amount of sense-- and in that story god has no power or decision about how humans are to be. It stands in a very obvious conflict to what the standard religions teach. It basically mean that God kinda randomly noticed there are humans on this planet, and decided to fuck with their personal life-- but only after they've existed for hundreds of thousands of years.

I think that if you believe in both God and evolution, you're basically equating God to luck.

Well no, that's not the only possible hypothesis. Like, there's probably a countless amount of extremely small things within the history of this planet that if they had happened in just a little bit differently, things might've gone very differently overall. So there's also a hypothesis that God could've guided some things within the history, even if they're small things.

Mind you, I don't believe any of that and it doesn't even make that much sense, but just saying, your idea isn't the only possible hypothesis.

 

[E-Cat]

That's the same as Trump's approval rating. Coincidence?

No, there's probably at least 90% overlap.

 

[Dude Abides]

The statue should be of Scopes, he was the courageous one.

 

[Daedardus]

One thing that doesn't help is that if you google 'is evolution true', two of the top three results are creationist's websites that disprove evolution. And I'm not even in the US and have a rather scientific search history.

 

[Hrothgar]

Only 19% believe in evolution without God's involvement? That's just tragic...

 

[Wamb0wneD]

Wait it's still at 38%? What the actual fuck?

Only 19% believe in evolution without God's involvement? That's just tragic...

Also this. Holy shit...

 

[michaelius]

I don't see anything wrong with people believing evolution is God's path of creation. It's a whole lot better than going with creationism

That's what my priest always told when I had religion as subject in my school- that 7 days for world creation is allegory for evolution.

 

[dabig2]

Wait it's still at 38%? What the actual fuck?



Also this. Holy shit...

Seriously. Creationism is still double strict evolution. I can't even get excited about support dropping if it's still this high. And considering most of these folks helped elect Trump and other anti-science fucking pharisees into government, my disgust towards these people has grown exponentially.

 

[mrklaw]

I don't see anything wrong with people believing evolution is God's path of creation. It's a whole lot better than going with creationism

I don’t understand why organised religion didn’t grab it earlier. Holding onto 6000 years and all things being created directly by god just doesn’t stand up to even basic science. God created the world - ok. And all the things on it. Ok. And then those things evolved - fine.

 

[PabloBolivar]

I don’t understand why organised religion didn’t grab it earlier. Holding onto 6000 years and all things being created directly by god just doesn’t stand up to even basic science. God created the world - ok. And all the things on it. Ok. And then those things evolved - fine.

The world has changed a lot even since you were born. Kind of amazing.

 

[BocoDragon]

If people are forever addicted to religion.... I'll take it. It's better than them rejecting science.

But I actually don't think humans are "naturally inclined" to religion so much as religious ideologies exist and perpetuate their views on children.

If we didn't raise kids in religion, they wouldn't come up with it on their own. It's simply that people love to bend over backward to justify the myths foisted upon them at impressionable ages.

 

[ec0ec0]

Those numbers have to be made up.

Even 5% of people believing in that sounds ridiculous. How many people would 5% be?

But more than 30 percent!? america you're such an embarrassment.

Looked up Spain. The people that believe in evolution don't even reach 80 percent!? You need the people in the "not sure" camp for that. Damn.

 

[Banzai]

I continue to be surprised by how awful the USA are. I don't even know why anymore.

 

[Xe4]

I continue to be surprised by how awful the USA are. I don't even know why anymore.

Anti science beliefs are a thing all around the world. Young earth creationism is more a problem in the US than other developed country, but that's pretty much the only category we stand out in. Everywhere else is pretty equally stupid when it comes to science as the US, if not more so.

 

[Tezzeractor]

Those numbers have to be made up.

Even 5% of people believing in that sounds ridiculous. How many people would 5% be?

But more than 30 percent!? america you're such an embarrassment.

Looked up Spain. The people that believe in evolution don't even reach 80 percent!? You need the people in the "not sure" camp for that. Damn.

5% of Americans would be 16.1 million people.

The 19% of Americans who believe in non-divine evolution are 61.3 million people.

The 38% that believe in Creationism are 123 million people.

 

[nel e nel]

You can believe in God and believe in evolution as well.

I mean, someone once did call God the greatest scientist. I like how that sounds.

The whole concept of genes was discovered by a friar.

 

[Air]

As a person who believes in God:

Good. Creationism is just not acceptable.

 

[cameron]

Article from 2014, Slate: Map: Publicly Funded Schools That Are Allowed to Teach Creationism.

A large, publicly funded charter school system in Texas is teaching creationism to its students, Zack Kopplin recently reported in Slate. Creationist teachers don’t even need to be sneaky about it—the Texas state science education standards, as well as recent laws in Louisiana and Tennessee, permit public school teachers to teach “alternatives” to evolution. Meanwhile, in Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, taxpayer money is funding creationist private schools through state tuition voucher or scholarship programs. As the map below illustrates, creationism in schools isn’t restricted to schoolhouses in remote villages where the separation of church and state is considered less sacred. If you live in any of these states, there’s a good chance your tax money is helping to convince some hapless students that evolution (the basis of all modern biological science, supported by everything we know about geology, genetics, paleontology, and other fields) is some sort of highly contested scientific hypothesis as credible as “God did it.”

Perhaps Betsy DeVos will makes things better, with her "academic freedom".

 

[Emperor_Uriel]

I think it's pretty undeniable that, if this existence truly was developed by a greater being, it was done with very concrete logic and rules.

Just as video games are imagined worlds realized through highly technical programming, so too might our reality be bound by the tools of its architects.

 

[RoadHazard]

38% is still an absolutely insane number for a developed nation. Shameful level of ignorance, irrationality and lack of education.

 

[Supast4r]

You can believe in God and believe in evolution as well.

I mean, someone once did call God the greatest scientist. I like how that sounds.

This is what I believe personally, I'm more of a deist these days

 

[TheOohChild]

I am a dirty atheist, but I always thought it was a neat concept to see god as history's greatest mathematician/astrophysicist/chemist/biologist.

 

[Ermc_G6]

My view is that the two aren't mutually exclusive. The creation story in the book of Genesis even flows follows evolution to some degree. First there were things in the ocean, then birds and lizards, then animals and a bit later humans showed up.

It is also my understanding that the seven "days" of creation could also have been translated into "seven periods of time" and not literally seven days of 24 hours.

 

[Ushay]

Good. God and evolution are not mutually exclusive.

Why not?

 

[kiguel182]

Being religious and ignoring science shouldn't be exclusive. Altought more radical churches unfortunately exist and promote ignorance and anti science views.

 

[Mr. Poolman]

I would "love" to meet a creationist flat earther.

 

[Knoxcore]

Holy shit, twice as many Americans (38%) believe in Creationism than Strict Evolution (19%)!!

This is what shocks me.

 

[the-pi-guy]

Holy shit, twice as many Americans (38%) believe in Creationism than Strict Evolution (19%)!!

That's not that surprising.

Those numbers have to be made up.

Even 5% of people believing in that sounds ridiculous. How many people would 5% be?

But more than 30 percent!? america you're such an embarrassment.

Looked up Spain. The people that believe in evolution don't even reach 80 percent!? You need the people in the "not sure" camp for that. Damn.

A lot of people work very hard to make sure it's taught in schools.

Wait, how can you believe both that God created the Earth 6,000 years ago and that scientists are right in that it's clearly billions of years old?

They don't.
There are some creationists who will say the Earth is billions of years old. It's called Old Earth Creationism.

 

[freethoughtbubble]

I'll take it. I couldn't care less if people believe in a deity, but we should all understand and value science.

 

[Bounceounce]

This will slowly lead towards more Atheism so I'll take it.