crocodile deathroll

One question that bugs me is, why is creationism is so rife in America and shows little signs of waining when in Europe it has been very much in decline over that last century?

What are the lastest statistics on this grave situation in America?

Maybe some American can answer this better than I can.

Jesus Tap-Dancin' Christ

Jerry Falwell et al.

Duvenoy

Add to it that we are pretty much idiots, and you've summed it up pretty well.

doov

Skydancer

Now, now... you're confusing cause and effect. I think it's because our founders included a lot of the European religious fanatics - plus after 1789, we made the churches compete instead of propping them up so they got better at propaganda. I keep telling myself it's only a matter of time.

magiksam

The sad truth

<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/evolutionviews990816.html" target="_blank">ABC News US Adults Skeptical... Evolution</a>

<a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_Poll" target="_blank">1999 results</a>

<a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000D4FEC-7D5B-1D07-8E49809EC588EEDF&pageNumber=3&catID=2" target="_blank">there's hope</a>

<a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0006D234-4BE9-1CC6-B4A8809EC588EEDF&catID=2" target="_blank">damnit i live in the red!</a>

<a href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_publi.htm" target="_blank">various results from all over</a>

think that makes 2001 most recent though its probably only gotten worse - at SB college i attended suddenly it has become an issue

Vorkosigan

Because in Europe facism operates openly (Le Pen, Haider). In the US it has to be cloaked in religion. It's not like we're any dumber than you guys, we're just dumber about different things.

Vorkosigan

bluefugue

Religion has become a useful tool of certain political groups in the US. (Or should that read, "Politics has become a useful tool of certain religious groups in the US?") You have to whip your constituency into a frenzy about something; why not whip them into a frenzy about public schools teaching our children (please won't someone think of the CHILDREN!!!) that they are descended from apes?

Stephen T-B

Is there something here about a democratic culture pandering to the lowest common denominator?
Part of the American Dream is that being ordinary equals being special: anyone can get rich, anyone can rise to be President and ignorance has the same value as wisdom and knowledge. (Actually, greater value in terms of the market place because there are more ignorant people than educated ones.)
We see consequences of this in US gun law (every damn fool wants a gun), in the standard of TV programmes ("don’t put anything on which the least educated person won’t be able to understand"), in acceptance of the death penalty ("Yeah, let’s shoot / poison / gas/ electrocute the son-of-a-bitch!") and the embracing by so many churches of the Creationist doctrine (so much easier to handle than the complexities of evolution.)
In this culture, “democratically validated credulity” (not my expression, but one I especially like) wields real power.
l

bluefugue

Yeah, well, at least we didn't create the Spice Girls.

Duvenoy

I fear we've created far worse, blue. I wonder: could Michael Jackson be considered evolution in action?

At least the Spices were pleasant to look at.



doov