Dumbing down of the US.

The US has long had a strong anti-intellectual tendency, perhaps it is due to populism.  Lately, there has been a dislike of the "educated elite" and their "expertise", which somehow translates into unquestioning acceptance of things which are plain off bullshit.

In this case:  creationism.

Source: National Geographic

 The United States ranks 33rd in the world in acceptance in the scientific notion of evolution. Yes, 33rd! Just ahead of the Turks but behind Cyprus and Latvia. In a 2005 survey adults were asked to respond to the statement: “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals.” Only 40% of U.S. citizens responded, true.

In 2013 another survey asked, “Humans and other living things have evolved over time.” Only 43% of those who identified as Republicans agreed. This was down from 54% in 2009. An 11% decline in 4 years.

Among Democrats 67% answered true while 65% of Independents agreed. Pew’s researchers said party differences remained when other factors — such as the racial and ethnic composition of the political groups, and religious and educational background — were taken into account.

That's pretty bad, but it might explain why other silly beliefs have taken hold in US society.

See also:
Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds

Minnesota Atheists Visit the Creation Museum

On PZ Myers site there are several posts up about the fascinating field trip he organized. After viewing the dinosaur exhibit, in which each of the geological periods was assigned a recent date, he had this to say.

Even if you don't care about the geology, what about the history? All but 7 people are exterminated in 2348 BC, by their accounting, yet we know that in that century, we have the establishment of the Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia, the sixth dynasty in Egypt, the founding of major cities in the Indus valley and Korea…we have archaeological and historical records that show business as usual, with no one noting a massive annihilation of the human race.

The whole "museum" is like that — it's a succession of assertions that flout the evidence, but does so in a style that is simply parroted from legitimate museums. Substance is completely lacking.

For me, Prof. Myers and his atheist friends often seem to be too sarcastic and condescending. But, who can blame them in the face of something like this. Do people really take the literal interpretation of the Bible seriously? Sadly, I know the answer to that.

I'd be interested to know if our regular commenters who claim Biblical justification for carrying guns also go for this creationism business. It is a fascinating business.

Please leave a comment.

Thank God For Evolution

"Thank God for Evolution" is the name of a wonderful web site run by Michael Dowd, who has been an occasional commenter here.

Until we appreciate what God has revealed in the last 200 years about how everything was actually created and why death at all levels is necessary—until we GET that—we can't help but belittle God and trivialize the core concepts of our faith.

For example, you can't possibly know how God created the heavens and Earth if you don't understand supernovas. You can't know how God created soil, lakes, oceans, and mountains if you don't understand glaciers and plate tectonics. And only by understanding extinctions and why they're essential for the emergence of complex life could we learn how God created us.

Rev. Dowd suggests that science reveals more about God than the Bible writers did. He says, "Darwin didn't kill off God. He gave us the first glimpse of the real Creator behind and beyond all the world's mythic portrayals of the divine."

Claiming that evolution is of the devil and that all the evils of the world can be attributed to Darwin, as many creationists do, is blasphemous. It is labeling as evil that which is actually divine.

What's your opinion? Are the concepts of creation and evolution mutually exclusive or can they be reconciled as Rev. Michael Dowd attempts to do?

I don't suppose hard core atheists would be open to these ideas any more than strict fundamental Christians, but to me they make sense. How about you.

Please leave a comment.

Evolution vs. Creationism

The NY Times has a wonderful story about the difficulty a Biology teacher in Jacksonville FL is having trying to educate his students about evolution. It seems that it actually required the recent passing of legislation requiring evolution to be taught. Nevertheless, problems persist.

But in a nation where evangelical Protestantism and other religious traditions stress a literal reading of the biblical description of God’s individually creating each species, students often arrive at school fearing that evolution, and perhaps science itself, is hostile to their faith.

David Campbell is the courageous Biology teacher who is striving to overcome the prejudices of his students, many of whom come from fundamentalist Christian families who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

The poor treatment of evolution in some state education standards may reflect the public’s widely held creationist beliefs. In Gallup polls over the last 25 years, nearly half of American adults have consistently said they believe God created all living things in their present form, sometime in the last 10,000 years.

Even within the fundamentalist movement there is reason to hope that reason and common sense will prevail. Last year wired.com interviewed Rev. Michael Dowd, former evangelical minister who now works as an itinerant evolution apologist. Rev. Dowd sums it up like this:

There's a difference between flat-earth faith and evolutionary faith. In flat-earth Christianity, the core insights -- sin, salvation, heaven and hell -- are understood in the same way as when people first formulated ideas. I still value the same concepts, but interpret them in a radically different way.

What's your opinion? Although I'm no expert on this business, I tend to think the United States probably cannot afford to impede the education of its young people. I'm hoping for improvement, encouraged by the example of Rev. Dowd.