Belief in Evolution: Slow but Positive Progress

The most recent Gallup poll on belief in evolution shows a small but positive (+4%) increase in the number of Americans who accept the scientific consensus, agreeing that "Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life". Currently 54% of Americans share this viewpoint which is good news for those of us who agree with Theodosius Dobzhansky's famous statement that "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." Unfortunately 40% of Americans still agree with the young earth creationist view that "God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years."  This is an astonishingly high number, however it is actually the lowest level of support for young earth creationism in the history of the Gallup poll.

American Belief in Evolution
(Data Source: 2010 Gallup Poll)

So why do so many Americans reject the theory of evolution? Level of education is one factor. The less educated you are the less likely you are to believe in evolution. For example, only 43% of Americans whose education level is high school or less believe in evolution.

Another key factor is a person's religious beliefs. According to a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, the more fundamentalist your religion the less likely you are to accept evolution.

Percentage of Adherents Who Believe in Evolution
(Data Source: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

So how does America compare with other countries when it comes to belief in evolution? According to a study published in the August 2006 issue of Science, the United States ranks second to last with Turkey being the only country in the survey with a lower acceptance of the scientific consensus.

Ranking of Countries by Belief in Evolution
(Graph Source: Science, August 2006)

The study identified two reasons for America's low ranking: 1) widespread religious fundamentalism and; 2) the ongoing politicization of science. Since the former is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, and the latter is outside the control of scientists, educators and pro-science citizens, any strategy that hopes to increase evolutionary literacy in the US needs to take these issues into account.

Evolution is the foundation for modern biology. A thorough understanding of it is an absolute necessity for any person going into biology-based professions such as genetics, agronomy, medicine, etc. To remain competitive in the global economy, and possibly to even just survive the 21st century, we need to do much better than our current 54% acceptance. The Gallup poll shows progress has been slow but positive so we are doing something right, but to make serious gains I think we need some fresh new ideas.