Americans lag only Turkey in discrediting evolution

Illustration courtesy Human Evolution Sequence

By Jeremy Lipps, Bay City News Service

February 17, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A leading American scientist claims that European science understanding is more evolved than the United States, where only 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution, just half the 80 percent rate of several European nations.

Jon Miller, a professor in political science at Michigan State University who spoke at the American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium in San Francisco Friday, said religion and politics play major roles in undermining the hard earned knowledge that led to the widely accepted theory of evolution.

Miller points a finger at "by the book'' religions like those practiced by fundamentalists in the United States and Iraq.

"Fundamentalists in this country say everything you need to know is in the Bible, period. Islamists say everything you need to know is in the Koran, period,'' Miller said.

According to Miller, the United States ranks second in discounting evolution, just after Turkey.

In a paper published in the journal Science, Miller stated that two in five Americans reject the concept of evolution and another one in five is unsure about evolution.

To contrast the United States' 40 percent of people who do believe in evolution, more than 80 percent of people in Iceland, Denmark and Sweden accepted the concept of evolution, according to Miller.

Miller also blames the Republican Party for waning belief in evolution.

The Republican Party uses a candidate's belief as a litmus test for his candidacy, according to Miller.

"There is no major political party in Europe that uses opposition to evolution as a part of its political platform,'' Miller said. "In the United States there are people who think it is a political advantage to discount evolution.''

The American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium is being held Feb. 15 to 19 in San Francisco. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of science around the world.

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