A new Gallup poll reveals Americans’ views on creation:
- 40% believe humans were specially created by God 10,000 years ago (creationism)
- 38% believe God used evolutionary processes to create human beings from less advanced life forms over millions of years (theistic evolution)
- 16% believe humans developed from less advanced life forms over millions of years without any aid from a divine being (naturalism/atheism).
The number of theistic evolutionists has not changed much over the past 30 years, while there has been a slight decrease in the number of creationists (down from 47% in 1993) and a slight increase in the number of naturalists/atheists (up 7% from 1982).
One of the weaknesses of this poll is that it presents these three views as if they were the only options. Jay Richards wrote a short post elaborating on this point. Nevertheless, it does illustrate an important point: the vast majority of Americans do not buy into the materialistic paradigm of Darwinism.
Thinking to Believe 
December 28, 2010 at 11:23 pm
Does it really matter if you are in either of the first two categories? I find myself in the 38% of believers in theistic evolution, mainly because of what we have learned from archeology and other sciences.
BUT I can not yet completely reconcile the creation of man versus evolution of some “pre” man to what we are today. Is this not perhaps the real issue? I think there is a missing link for a reason: there are no link between us today and any possible “pre” human. Humans as we are today perhaps really was created “in an instant” as per Genesis.
Your thoughts?
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December 31, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Nico,
I think it does matter, but not for orthodoxy per se.
I’m not as convinced as you that the paleontological evidence has demonstrated common ancestry, such that we must adopt some sort of theistic evolutionary view. At best the fossil record evidences a biological history of simpler to more complex organisms, but this can be explained by a progressive creationist view in which God creates different organisms at different times in history, man being the last.
If common ancestry is true we would expect to find a fossil record replete with transitional forms. Instead, what we find is stasis (organisms persist in the same form for millions of years unchanged) and discontinuity (large gaps between different organisms).
Like I said, there are many missing links–not just for man. So if one is justified in thinking man is a special creation due to a lack of evidence of transitional fossils, then the same could be said of most organisms.
Jason
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