Half of Britons do not believe in evolution

my quay

According to this Guardian article 50% of British respondents believe in evolution with only 25% stating it is definitely true. They haven't linked to the original report and the article hasn't mentioned how these people were surveyed so I'm hoping they're all just in need of a certain award. If not, then this low figure is rather depressing.

I'm assuming that in this anniversary year we'll see a lot more of these surveys. Does anyone think that any (national) survey will show a high rate of acceptance?

Kate Monster

I am dubious about the numbers because they do not go into any detail about who conducted the study and how.

Norvu

Well, as great as the Darwin Awards are, it's not really applicable to suggest its use for the ignorance of a population. Also, I'm not that surprised! As a Briton I can tell you that evolution is pretty much accepted here, but it depends on the age group you talk to. Younger people have pretty much accepted it, as many of us do not go to church and very few have any real religious affiliation (although most will still call themselves Christian or Muslim out of a tribalistic instinct), whereas older people are more likely to have been brought up in a faith or turned to faith as their mortality begins to show itself even more.

You really need to survey specific age groups with this sort of thing to get a real sense of a nations stance, rather than just grouping all the age groups together. You can also assume the older generation weren't properly educated about Evolution, seeing as how our knowledge of biology and DNA has come forward leaps and bounds since their school years.

Half of the 2,060 people questioned were either strongly opposed to the theory or confused about it.

They also put people who do not understand evolution and those who do not believe in it into the same category, showing lack of knowledge or education on the subject. 2,060 is a very small sample also.

I remember when the Archbishop of Canterbury raised some hell over Creationism being taught in schools and thoroughly backed evolution, meaning that those who are most likely NOT to believe (the religious folk) will still believe in evolution regardless.