A new poll, cited in an online editorial from a Louisiana website, shows this:
. . . . .40 percent of the respondents believe evolution is not well-supported by evidence or generally accepted within the scientific community. Only 39 percent of the respondents said they believed evolution is well-supported by evidence. Twenty-one percent said they did not know.
No real surprise here — these statistics are in line with national polls in America.
A fun thing about this editorial is the first line. It start, “Just in time for the bicentennial observance of Charles Darwin’s birth…”
Since when is April 14 “just in time” for February 12?
I guess the pace of life really is different.
That is what you get when you have the least educated people in the nation who are also the least healthy. But they have ‘faith’. Pathetic.
sigh.
Given the state of the US education system is this just ignorance or is it religious zealotry?
It’s ignorant religious zealotry.
White Rabbit, religious zealotry is ignorance.
In this case, 39% on the side of rationality plus 21% who aren’t worked up about it may be a good omen. Is this a shift from 5yrs ago? And if so, in which way?
I’d like to see the numbers from the same poll in Massachusetts, too.
It is encouraging, however, that the article itself is supportive of science and generally states the case for evolution correctly. It (the author) even takes a jab at Fundy Jindal.
Given how propagandized against evolution people are these days, I’m always a bit pleased to see some people still see through the propaganda.
NewEnglandBob,
^_^
Yes, but it’s a special kind of ignorance. Harder to beat off with the education stick.
despite all the power of a establishment to insist evolution is true and still come up short in this state/America is a clue to a future decline everywhere in belief in evolution.
They had their chance and now equal time before the same audience is going to send the numbers down for the evolution crowd.
I don’t think evolution support ever passed in conviction the 50% mark.
At this point in history evolution should be more accepted then President Obama’s running the country.
Yet evolution is losing ground because its not persuasive to people who hear both sides.
That’s why creationism is expelled in academia.
One of the fundamental causes of this stupidity is due to the fact that individual politicians and school boards run our schools. Instead of scientists being in charge of the science curriculum across the nation, it is put in the hands of Joe-Bob at the gas station who decides to run for a local or state school board. The funding, quality and curriculum of schools across the U.S. varies so greatly that we can find entire states where people are so poorly educated that they believe fairy tales over scientific fact.
At least believing in me (Santa) might get you a gift or two if you’re good. 🙂
Why would anyone not expect a result like this? How else could Jindal and the state GOP get away punching an opening for creationism in public schools? And of course, LA has the 3rd worst public educational system in the country.