Does the Fact That We are Getting Stupider Disprove Darwin?

Today is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. For the 34 percent of you in a recent Gallup poll who didn’t know who Darwin was, and for the 10 percent of you in the same survey who guessed wrong, Darwin is the guy who wrote “On the Origin of Species.” The book, detailing the scientist’s observations during a five-year expedition most notably to the Galapagos Islands, was published in 1859 and has been taken as an assault on Christian creation myths ever since.

In addition to showing that most people are too stupid to get the facts straight before they object to them, the Gallup poll revealed other alarming trends. Answers directly correlated with factors of age, education, and church attendance.

Do you, personally, believe in the theory of evolution?

All respondents

Yes	39%
No	25%
No opinion either way	36%
No answer	1%

High school education or less

Yes	21%
No	27%
No opinion either way	52%

College graduate

Yes	53%
No	22%
No opinion either way	26%

Respondents age 18 — 34

Yes	49%
No	18%
No opinion either way	33%

Respondents age 34 — 54

Yes	39%
No	24%
No opinion either way	37%

Respondents age 55 and up

Yes	31%
No	30%
No opinion either way	38%

Attend church weekly

Yes	24%
No	41%
No opinion either way	35%

Attend church at least monthly

Yes	30%
No	26%
No opinion either way	44%

Attend church seldom or never

Yes	55%
No	11%
No opinion either way	34%