On Feb 11, 2009, at 2:35 PM, Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Darwin’s Birthday, Only 4 in 10 Believe in Evolution
> Belief drops to 24% among frequent church attenders
>
> PRINCETON, NJ -- On the eve of 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's
> birth, a new Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of Americans say they
> "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do
> not believe in the theory, and another 36% don't have an opinion
> either way.
What a ridiculous "question!" "Believe in" is a term with meaning only in relation to religion (ie., a mental-structure within which "belief" [aka "faith"]" is the highest form of cognition). In relation to a scientific theory one can believe, disbelieve, or suspend belief (in whole or in part), but one cannot "believe in" a scientific theory.
Moreover, "*the* theory of evolution" simply does not exist--there are different theories, not all of which would even claim descent from Darwin but none of which are in fact "Darwin's theory."
Faced with that question, the only possible answer is "no opinion."
A responsible and honest question would ask people whether they accept the *fact* of human evolution. A question like this: "If you were to trace your ancestry back to pour earliest ancestors within ten million generations, would any of your ancestors at that epoch have been human beings like yourself?" The percentage of "no" answers would precisely show the proportion of people who accept the fact of evolution. I believe that a very large majority would turn out to be "evolutionists."
Shane Mage
> This cosmos did none of gods or men make, but it
> always was and is and shall be: an everlasting fire,
> kindling in measures and going out in measures."
>
> Herakleitos of Ephesos