Posted on 03/07/2006 2:34:37 PM PST by SirLinksalot
Darwin smacked in new U.S. poll
Whopping 69 percent of Americans want alternate theories in classroom
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Posted: March 7, 2006 5:00 p.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A new poll shows 69 percent of Americans believe public school teachers should present both the evidence for and against Darwinian evolution.
The Zogby International survey indicated only 21 percent think biology teachers should teach only Darwin's theory of evolution and the scientific evidence that supports it.
A majority of Americans from every sub-group were at least twice as likely to prefer this approach to science education, the Zogby study showed.
About 88 percent of Americans 18-29 years old were in support, along with 73 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of independent voters.
Others who strongly support teaching the strengths and weaknesses of evolutionary theory include African-Americans (69 percent), 35-54 year-olds (70 percent) and Democrats (60 percent).
Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal affairs with Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture said while his group does not favor mandating the teaching of intelligent design, "we do think it is constitutional for teachers to discuss it precisely because the theory is based upon scientific evidence not religious premises."
The Seattle-based Discovery Institute is the leading promoter of the theory of Intelligent Design, which has been at the center of challenges in federal court over the teaching of evolution in public school classes. Advocates say it draws on recent discoveries in physics, biochemistry and related disciplines that indicate some features of the natural world are best explained as the product of an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.
"The public strongly agrees that students should be permitted to learn about such evidence," Luskin said.
The Discovery Institute noted Americans also support students learning about evidence for intelligent design alongside evolution in biology class – 77 percent.
Just over half – 51 percent – agree strongly with that. Only 19 percent disagree.
As WorldNetDaily reported, more than 500 scientists with doctoral degrees have signed a statement expressing skepticism about Darwin's theory of evolution.
The statement, which includes endorsement by members of the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences, was first published by the Discovery Institute in 2001 to challenge statements about Darwinian evolution made in promoting PBS's "Evolution" series.
The PBS promotion claimed "virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true."
So what exactly is the empirical evidence against evolution? And 'dunno how it happened so Goddidit' is not evidence.
Absolutely! And almost all scientists agree. Hence this poll.
The ToE isn't 100% perfect, and no one would claim it is.
Only by finding the holes and researching them can the theory be improved.
This poll does not say what you think it says.
People believe all evidence both for and against all theories should be taught.
But the key word is, "evidence". ID so far, has none. If you come up with any, then it *should* be taught.
Doesn't matter if you've never ever said anything supportive of that belief, simply not being part of the hallelujah chorus of the Bible is stupid and Darwin proves it brands you as one.
Only in ultra lib thought and agenda have I seen such close minded demagoguery as so many here on this board on the "crevo" threads partake in.
I doubt it -- this doesn't mean what some folks are pretending. Most Evo's would say yes to this poll.
All evidence should be taught.
No one ever claimed otherwise.
This poll is *not* about ID. Since ID has no evidence to support it, they weren't even asked about ID.
Lamarck's ideas were useless to geneticists but very handy for Joseph Stalin, who rejected any doctrine -- like Darwinism -- that challenged socialism. Willful ideology, not genetic determinism, was the key to his Soviet revolution. Stalin named a crop biologist, Trofim Denisovich Lysenko, to champion Lamarckism. Lysenko and his ilk linked "the survival of the fittest" to fascism and accused Soviet geneticists of sabotage, espionage, and terrorism. Supporters of evolution were jailed or shot. Scientific publishing was censored. According to historians, no genetics textbooks were published in the USSR between 1938 and the early 1960s and no evolution at all was taught to several generations of students. Stalin's political solution choked off scientific progress, modern genetics never reached the Soviet Union, and today Russia and the Balkans lag behind other countries in scientific and medical advances. "
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1314&issue=jun_05
Why?
Zogby is a famous lefty poll. No doubt they're hoping Republicans will fall for this gambit and push creationism, a guaranteed road to political defeat.
Remember the re-election rate of the Dover school board.
I find it highly interesting that evolutionary theory is the only scientific theory that is so special, it must be protected by law.................WHY???
Wow, amazing story. Thanks for the link.
You seem to be confusing "theory" with "hypothesis".
They aren't the same.
If there were scientific evidence against the theory of evolution, it wouldn't be taught in school. It would have to be changed or discarded.
So, why don't you tell us the true value of pi?
Or, this poll only says people believe all evidence should be taught.
Which I think most evos would say, "yes" to.
Since ID has no evidence, this poll does *not* say these folks support ID.
Teacher; Science is defined as observation of a fact. Today we are going to study intelligent design. has anyone here ever observed intelligent design as a fact?
Class; No sir!!!
Teacher; If it can't be observed as a fact is it science?
Class; No sir!!!!
Teacher; Very good class, intelligent design has been disproved as a science and will no longer be considered in this class. Tomorrow we will observe some facts.
We were all taught evolution in school, weren't we?
You can be confident that that 69% are not just people seeking acadmeic freedom of discussion. This poll tells a lot about what the values of the American people are, and that ain't where the MSM polls tell us it is.
That's one very short class. No doubt that explains evolutions appeal: no need to think or worry about it, just accept it and move on.
Kinda like a fanatical Baptist.
You can relax. I doubt it will become a big political issue. Maybe on the local level, though.
I'm a conservative, but this is pure right wing propaganda that's almost as good as the left wing crap of the NYTimes.
Note how they tell about the 500 "scientists" who signed DI's poll against evolution, then quote PBS saying "virtually every scientists in the world believes [evolution] to be true". This makes PBS look like idiots, but the fact is they're right. Project Steve (google it) alone demonstrates that several tens of thousands of scientists do support evolution, contrary to WND's propagandistic insinuation otherwise.
I new I detested Joe Farah at WND when he started this pro-creationism bent. Now that I see his dishonest tactics, I know my instincts about him were correct.
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