It’s a slight rise, to be sure, but any is better than none.
PRINCETON, NJ — Four in 10 Americans, slightly fewer today than in years past, believe God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago. Thirty-eight percent believe God guided a process by which humans developed over millions of years from less advanced life forms, while 16%, up slightly from years past, believe humans developed over millions of years, without God’s involvement. […] A small minority of Americans hold the “secular evolution” view that humans evolved with no influence from God — but the number has risen from 9% in 1982 to 16% today. At the same time, the 40% of Americans who hold the “creationist” view that God created humans as is 10,000 years ago is the lowest in Gallup’s history of asking this question, and down from a high point of 47% in 1993 and 1999.
The influence of political affiliation is also noted:
The significantly higher percentage of Republicans who choose a creationist view of human origins reflects in part the strong relationship between religion and politics in contemporary America. Republicans are significantly more likely to attend church weekly than are others, and, as noted, Americans who attend church weekly are most likely to select the creationist alternative for the origin of humans.
Might be time to update the education system.
Education reform would be good. Not going to hold my breath.
Watch the numbers of atheists continue to rise as the old farts (like me, but with creationist bias) die of old age.
machintelligence:
As a fellow old fart, I want to believe that’s going to make all the difference, but I don’t know anymore. These people don’t exist in isolation. They have families they are and have raised in the same beliefs, and those beliefs keep poisoning a new generation.
… less advanced forms of life…
Unsurprisingly, given that this came from Gallup, the question was apparently worded by a biological illiterate.