Julielai wrote:

I'm sure many of you have read/watched "Inherit the Wind".

Julie,

I saw the movie as well as read the book. That book is definitely a drama type. It is a very good play. It is about science versus religion.

I think it was a school teacher who taught about Darwin in school. He was being persecuted. I think the setting was about in early 20th century. One scene I still remeber someone said the Earth was only four thousands years according in the Bible. But the geolgists thought otherwise. I think the school teacher was found innocent in the end  

What is the source of the poll that says that only 28% of Americans believe in evolution? I find that almost impossible to believe. What it truly a nation-wide poll, or just some little segment deep in the Bible-belt? (Having said that, I sat in a Sunday school class to hear the leader say "Can you believe there are actually people out there who believe we descended from apes?" as if it were shocking. Rather than raising my hand and saying "Yeah, and I'm one of them!" I found a different class, and in fact no longer attend that church. But in relating that story to others, the result was universally shock. It wasn't that 3 out of 4 people agreed with the Sunday School leader and only 1 in 4 agreed with me. Everyone was shocked.)

I'd like to point out that just about every time some school district has mandated teaching "alternate theories" to evolution, they have been voted out of office.

(P.S. I write this not only as an American, but as one who is far more "religious" than most people would guess. And I'm 100% sure that God isn't mad at me for not taking Genesis literally!)

Hello GG

I don't know about the source of the 28% figure, but I found these, which have some interesting figures:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/22/opinion/polls/main965223.shtml

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/31/national/31religion.html?ex=1283140800&en=39489e707718912f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

MrP

Wow. I just read the links provided by Mr. P. I'm depressed now. 48% of the people think that people were just plopped down as-is, completely in the face of scientific discoveries to the contrary. Maybe the 2000 people they surveyed were in the Bible Belt. 

On a side note, I do enjoy the passage in which is says that Adam named all the animals. I wonder what he was thinking when he got to the duck-billed platypus.

I'm glad to read that a vast number of Americans do not reject evolution. The question remains as to why it is often the most ignorant, bone-headed people who decide for a more intelligent majority. The frivolous reply is that the intelligent can adapt to the stupid and not vice versa.

A more serious reply is that to oppose a power that uses ignorance as its weapon you need active participation and lively debate between people, exchange of ideas. The debate over evolution theory strongly involves politics; it's not enough to show that logic is on your side. This problem does not involve only the USA; we Europeans have long looked on the low participation in US elections, but also in Britain now Tony Blair has succeeded in reducing participation below 60%.

By the way, many people who accept evolution accept a theory further back in time that is contested by an increasing minority: the Big Bang. It's equally unscientific. Read "The Big Bang Never Happened" by Eric Lerner (search the web).