BBC: Most Brits Don't Believe in Evolution

NewsMax.com ^ | 01/26/2006 | Carl Limbacher

[LIConFem]

I resemble that remark, baby!

[longshadow]

A quick spot of googling revealed no primary source for the information in this article.

I suspect the results of the poll are swayed by self-selection bias, as the article says the 2000 respondents were people who responded to a program that was about the "Evo vs whatever" argument.

It would be like polling the audience of a TV program that spoke approvingly about homosexuality on what their views on homosexuality were. It is a non-random sample, which is predisposed to a particular view on the topic, and as such means absolutely nothing about the views of the population as a whole.

[Thatcherite]

A little more information in my researches. The only reference to an opinion poll I can find in the BBC's own bumf about the program concerns an opinion poll taken by Gallup in the States in Sep 2005, not in Britain. All of the material in the program appears to be about the US creation/evolution controversy. I'm sceptical that maybe Newsmax has competely got the wrong end of the stick, or it is just sloppy journalism (or agenda-driven of course)

[Physicist]

I thought we scientifically backward Yanks were practically all alone in the world in our skepticism...

And now we find we're not alone in our gullibility, either.

[Thatcherite]

And now we find we're not alone in our gullibility, either.

I'd hang fire for a bit. I'm deeply sceptical about this story. In fact I suspect that it is complete BS.

[Aquinasfan]

I think they need to ban the teaching of Creationism and Intelligent Design even more. That should do the trick.

[Thatcherite]

I think they need to ban the teaching of Creationism and Intelligent Design even more. That should do the trick.

Presumably you aren't aware that Religious Instruction (largely Christian) is mandatory in all state-run schools in the UK. Many schools have religious assemblies (hymn-singing and prayers) several days a week. Mine did, for instance. That's how we've ended up as the most godless nation in the world. Perhaps if the creationist/IDers get their way and get religious instruction into US state schools then the US will join us in becoming largely atheist.

[albionvectis]

I used to believe in evolution until I visited Baton Rouge - now I know it's a euphemistic name for a girl who can't outrun her daddy. . . . .

[albionvectis]

Since when have you got go to church to prove you believe in God? The vast majority of Britons believe in God - worship and organised religion is an entirely different issue.

[albionvectis]

Well if you're happy to deal in stereotypes, most yanks don't believe in salads - if us Brits were using our teeth as much as you lot do, we'd look after them better. . . . :)

[Aquinasfan]

Presumably you aren't aware that Religious Instruction (largely Christian) is mandatory in all state-run schools in the UK.

I wasn't. What about the teaching of Creationism and Inteligent Design?

Mine did, for instance. That's how we've ended up as the most godless nation in the world.

Mandatory religious instruction doesn't necessarily or even probably lead to godlessness. History demonstrates that. I assume that the religious instruction you received was poor, as it is in many Catholic schools here, admittedly. The only thing worse than religious ignorance is ignorance of one's own religious ignorance, due to the fact that one believes oneself to be knowledgeable about religion because of having sung hymns, said prayers, and learned a handful of facts.

[trebb]

I don't know that science has an explanation for how life can arise from dead matter.

Something about adding electricity to primordial soup - we all started from nobody's lunch. Some folks will argue it was a bang, others a plop, but it was obviously and accident, else how would liberals be here?

[SirLinksalot]

A quick spot of googling revealed no primary source for the information in this article. I'm not too interested in "science by opinion poll" but the claimed results astound me.

Sometimes, it takes time to get through all the google results and a simple google quick spot won't work unless you take the time to check things out.
Here is another source :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4648598.stm

-------------------------------------
More than half the British population does not accept the theory of evolution, according to a survey.
Furthermore, more than 40% of those questioned believe that creationism or intelligent design should be taught in school science lessons.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI for the BBC's Horizon series.

Its latest programme, A War on Science, looks into the attempt to introduce intelligent design into science classes in the US.

Over 2000 participants took part in the survey, and were asked what best described their view of the origin and development of life:

22% chose creationism
17% opted for intelligent design
48% selected evolution theory
and the rest did not know.


Intelligent design is the concept that certain features of living things are so complex that their existence is better explained by an "intelligent process" than natural selection.

Education questioned


Andrew Cohen, editor of Horizon, commented: "I think that this poll represents our first introduction to the British public's views on this issue.

"Most people would have expected the public to go for evolution theory, but it seems there are lots of people who appear to believe in an alternative theory for life's origins."

When given a choice of three theories, people were asked which ones they would like to see taught in science lessons in British schools:

44% said creationism should be included
41% intelligent design
69% wanted evolution as part of the science curriculum.

Participants over 55 were less likely to choose evolution over other groups.

"This really says something about the role of science education in this country and begs us to question how we are teaching evolutionary theory," Andrew Cohen added.

The findings prompted surprise from the scientific community. Lord Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, said: "It is surprising that many should still be sceptical of Darwinian evolution. Darwin proposed his theory nearly 150 years ago, and it is now supported by an immense weight of evidence.

"We are, however, fortunate compared to the US in that no major segment of UK religious or cultural life opposes the inclusion of evolution in the school science curriculum."

In the US, a recent high profile court case ruled that the intelligent design movement is motivated by a desire to introduce God into the classroom after parents in Pennsylvania took a school board to court over its demand that biology classes should not teach evolution as fact.

[munin]

Finally someone that think like me.
Evolution is just a word describing change and seem to me to have nothing to do with the origin of life, but might have affected it afterward, intelligent design seems to require a creator, so how is ID different from Creationism?
Are we talking about the beginning of all life on earth?
or are we just talking about the origin of Homosapien?
I am confused, seems to me there are at least two different issues here, can someone please set me straight?
This is a very important question that has bothered me for most of my life

[Thatcherite]

Thanks for finding that and posting it.

I have to confess that I am still extremely sceptical about the poll. I'd be very interested in seeing the exact questions asked, their order, what explanatory text there was, and how the sample was chosen. Most Brits (95%+) wouldn't even know what was meant by "intelligent design" without an explanation. Still, President Tony bLiar and PM Gordon Brown got more votes than anyone else so I guess I shouldn't over-estimate the wit of the great British public.

[RightWhale]

Great Britain is not what you would call a Christian nation any more

Hasn't been at least since 1830. The NT is an appendix they don't bother with.

[Blogger]

You missed the point.

The criticism of those who don't believe in Evolution is often that they are a bunch of ignorant uneducated "fundies".

[Canard]

"I suspect the results of the poll are swayed by self-selection bias, as the article says the 2000 respondents were people who responded to a program that was about the "Evo vs whatever" argument."

It doesn't say that. It says the poll was carried out on behalf of the Horizon programme. According to the BBC original, the poll was carried out by IPSOS Mori.

[Canard]

More info from the original BBC stories:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/war.shtml

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4648598.stm

[steve-b]

Mandatory religious instruction doesn't necessarily or even probably lead to godlessness.

On the contrary -- that is the predictable result of a government program, given the known results of other government programs.