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-------------------------
Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
A poll released yesterday found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public schools. The poll found that 42 percent of respondents held strict creationist views, agreeing that "living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time."
In contrast, 48 percent said they believed that humans had evolved over time. But of those, 18 percent said that evolution was "guided by a supreme being," and 26 percent said that evolution occurred through natural selection. In all, 64 percent said they were open to the idea of teaching creationism in addition to evolution, while 38 percent favored replacing evolution with creationism.
The poll was conducted July 7-17 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The questions about evolution were asked of 2,000 people. The margin of error was 2.5 percentage points.
This poll is evidence of America's decline. Our nation will not continue to prosper if we hold anti-science, backward and semi-literate views. America's greatness was a result of inventing new technology, medical breakthroughs and embracing the Enlightenment. America also succeeded because of our political system, separating Church and State.
This new poll shows how everything that made America strong is at risk from the Stone Age views of fundamentists. Every day, the U.S. looks more like the Christian fundamentalist version of Iran. In the long-run, this will be a disaster that slolwly lowers our standard of living and lessens our standing in the world. There is no such thing as a successful fundamentalist state. The U.S. will be no exception. All one can expect from a theocracy is death, destruction, poverty and misery. Freedom and theocracy are incompatible.
It is also crucial to recognize that a nation that believes in creationism will not support gay rights. All the countries that are most gay supportive are the least fundamentalist. That is why we have gay rights in Holland and in Saudi Arabia gay people are beheaded. I can only hope the U.S. gets off at the Enlightenment exit on the current autobahn to the Dark Ages.
4 Comments:
How sad and pathetic that 42% of Americans believe that "living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time," a completely DISPROVEN notion! This is not a matter of "opinion". It is a matter of fact vs. fiction. Wayne is absolutely correct. Religious fundamentalism threatens the greatness of America.
posted by Chris L., at
8/31/2005 7:31 PM
Why is everyone so surprised? They are the Bushies?
On a different but related note, Repent America, an extremist evangelist group in Lousiana has blamed gays for causing Hurricane Katrina. Go figure...this is the mentality we are dealing with, not to mention the tacit approval of the White House no less.
I think it's all just a lot of palaver. Evolution is a complex scientific idea which requires more than a smidgen of scientific knowledge. A religious view of "creation" can also have a great sophistication and complexity of thought.
Average Americans don't have these tools at their disposal. I think most Americans equate a godless universe with a blind nihilism.
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