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Claim: Poll shows Americans are more accepting of evolution now

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Of course, if you get to write the questions, instead of using standard ones…

The level of public acceptance of evolution in the United States is now solidly above the halfway mark, according to a new study based on a series of national public opinion surveys conducted over the last 35 years.

“From 1985 to 2010, there was a statistical dead heat between acceptance and rejection of evolution,” said lead researcher Jon D. Miller of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. “But acceptance then surged, becoming the majority position in 2016.”

University of Michigan, “Evolution now accepted by majority of Americans” at ScienceDaily

The paper is closed access.

But get this:

Besides Miller and Ackerman, the authors are Eugenie Scott and Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education; Belén Laspra of the University of Oviedo in Spain; and Carmelo Polino of the University of Oviedo and Centre Redes in Argentina; and Jordan Huffaker of U-M.

University of Michigan, “Evolution now accepted by majority of Americans” at ScienceDaily

Wait. Scott and Branch are key players in the Darwin-in-the-schools lobby (National Center for Science Educaton)! How’s that for objectivity?

And sure enough:

Before even reading the report I suspected exactly what the flaw in the study would be: it didn’t actually query people about whether they accepted something like what basically all evolutionary biologists believe in — a form of (apparently) blind and unguided Darwinian evolution, responsible for essentially all the major innovations in the history of life. Instead, it measured support for a much weaker definition of “evolution” akin to common descent or mere change over time.

Sure enough, the survey asked respondents if they agree with the following statement: “Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.” The authors claim in their paper that this “simple question asking whether humans evolved over a long period is a useful and clearer indicator of respondent acceptance or rejection of evolution.” Well, that all depends on how you define “evolution.” I know many proponents of intelligent design (ID), who are ardent skeptics of the neo-Darwinian and other mainstream models of evolution, but who might well answer that question with a solid yes.

Take Michael Behe, for example. Behe accepts common ancestry, and so by the survey’s standards he accepts evolution. Yet Behe gets repeatedly labeled a “creationist” by the NCSE. Don’t believe me? For one example of many see this article which says, quite pejoratively, that “Behe is a creationist…”

Do you see the disconnect? If not, here’s what’s wrong.

When attacking ID these pro-Darwin activists are very happy to use the “creationist” label in an apparent attempt to marginalize or sideline ID. But when measuring the degree of support for evolution in the culture, they’re happy to count ID proponents as not as “creationists” but as “scientifically literate” supporters of “evolution” — especially if that means the support-statistics go higher.

Casey Luskin, “Survey Artificially Inflates the Percentage of Americans who “Accept Evolution”” at Evolution News and Science Today

A serious poll would be done by a pollster without links to either side.

Comments
Any polls about evolution should ask the participants for the supporting evidence.
A picture which says it all https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8dij7bVUAchnPy?format=jpg&name=smalljerry
August 28, 2021
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Polls do not seem to be very reliable in recent years—just ask Hillary Clinton!KRock
August 28, 2021
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martin_r @ 3 Good analysis.
Moreover, i think that it is somehow modern to believe in the theory of evolution, if you don’t, you may look stupid, that you deny the modern science and blah blah blah … you are not modern,
That's a huge factor in academia and professions. The antique and pathetically outdated storytelling of Darwin has been elevated to the standard of modern hipness. As if it is so advanced that only the modern and cool-people can appreciate it. Like the hipsters who have a bumpersticker saying "Evolve" - as if that's a bold concept. Some evolutionists are fighting the 19th century wars against fundamentalism. William Jennings Bryant is still the bad guy. But as you point out, scientific paper after paper come out right now in the 21st century that truly destroy the primitive mechanisms of Darwin. It's laughable, as we know. From the paper linked:
"When you look at the narrative for hominin origins, it's just a big mess -- there's no consensus whatsoever," said Sergio Almécija, a senior research scientist in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Anthropology and the lead author of the review. "People are working under completely different paradigms, and that's something that I don't see happening in other fields of science."
Nobody pays any attention. Nobody follows up. Evolutionists continue as if nobody ever said what they just said there.Silver Asiatic
August 27, 2021
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they don’t follow the latest research, they are like 50 years behind
Nope it's about brainwashing (school,university then MSM). When somebody is slowly brainwashed for 10 20 30 years with this hoax of evolution is very difficult to reverse or cancel the brainwashing.Sandy
August 27, 2021
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seversky:
Is there a majority agreement on which is the correct creation story? Is there even an agreement over a means of deciding between them?
Science has ruled out a naturalistic creation story.ET
August 27, 2021
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Any polls about evolution should ask the participants for the supporting evidence. Then we can see how screwed up these people are due to the indoctrination of a false dogma.ET
August 27, 2021
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Evolution increases in the USA = facsism / socialism increases in the USA.mohammadnursyamsu
August 27, 2021
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A serious poll would be done by a pollster without links to either side.
Who, for example?Bob O'H
August 27, 2021
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Polistra
Most people simply don’t think about this issue at all, so they vaguely accept what they halfway remember from school.
i also think, that most lay people don't follow latest research and actually, most lay atheists are very misinformed ... I debated lots of atheists who think they are somehow qualified to talk about the theory evolution. It was always the same - they don't follow the latest research, they are like 50 years behind. Most atheists i ever debated were parroting classic 'arguments' for evolution.... e.g. natural selection, ATB resistance, human eye's blind spot, human reverse-wired eye ball, men nipples, vestigial organs, and all this Darwinian non-sense ... Actually, most atheists believe in theory of evolution because they believe in Darwinian biologists ... Moreover, i think that it is somehow modern to believe in the theory of evolution, if you don't, you may look stupid, that you deny the modern science and blah blah blah ... you are not modern, basically, you are an anti-vaxxer ... who would believe in some old book's texts, right ? .... The problem is, that no scientist on Earth, debunked the creation story (so far) ... Scientists don't know where to start in order to create a simplest cell let alone a simplest life ... so, the creation story has not been disproved (and of course, it won't be ... ) Moreover, there is a very sophisticated and systematic propaganda, that Darwinian scientists are somehow close to explain the origin of life..., just look at 'professor' Dave's youtube channel (and his 1.5 Mil followers). The fact is, that Darwinian scientists are as desperate as never before ... And it is not only about the origin-of-life research... if lay atheists would follow the latest research on e.g. human evolution, they would learn, what Darwinists themselves say about it - that "Most human origins stories are not compatible with known fossils" (ScienceDaily, May 2021) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210506142133.htm PS: one would expect, that the human evolution will become more clear with every new discovery. As the paper above states, the contrary is true ...martin_r
August 27, 2021
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Is there a majority agreement on which is the correct creation story? Is there even an agreement over a means of deciding between them?Seversky
August 26, 2021
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Most people simply don't think about this issue at all, so they vaguely accept what they halfway remember from school. The details of evolution don't affect anything in ordinary life..... and don't even affect the practical duties of people who work in science. When the question is asked the other way around, whether some kind of god was in charge of creating the world and life, majorities consistently say Yes.polistra
August 26, 2021
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