Canadian Creationists: "Wow, Oh Boy"

What does that Darwin know anyway?
REBECCA DUBE
From the Globe and Mail - Tue. June 26. 07

If your picture of creationists is limited to barefoot hillbillies and Republican U.S. presidential candidates, it's time for your thinking to evolve.

New polls show that a larger share of Americans - 53 per cent - believe in evolution than do Ontario residents, only 51 per cent of whom believe that "human beings evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years."

Over all, 59 per cent of Canadians said they believe in evolution, according to the Angus Reid poll of 1,088 adults conducted June 12-13. Twenty-two per cent agreed that "God created human beings in their present form within the last 10,000 years," and 19 per cent told pollsters they weren't sure.

Even those who say they believe in evolution may be confused about what that means exactly. The poll found 42 per cent of Canadians agree that dinosaurs and humans co-existed on earth - but evolutionary theory says non-avian dinosaurs died out about 60 million years before humans evolved in their current form.

"Wow. Oh boy," responded Pam Willoughby, an anthropology professor at the University of Alberta. "We're obviously not getting our message across."

While the evidence for evolution, such as fossil records dating back millions of years, is clear and persuasive, Prof. Willoughby acknowledged that creationism has one big advantage over evolutionary theory: certainty. Even though evolution is a strong theory with overwhelming scientific support, it doesn't offer the 100-per-cent certainty of religious doctrine.

"Religion gives people a way of explaining the world," Prof. Willoughby said. "We're not in the belief business, we're in the science business."

She was cheered to learn that roughly one in five Canadians aren't sure whether they believe in evolution or creationism.

"We might be able to convince a few more," she said.

Don't count on it, said Ian Juby, a Chalk River, Ont.-based consultant to creationist museums. He says evolution opponents are gaining steam.

"Part of it is the controversy, and people getting fed up with having their views stifled," Mr. Juby said. "There are lines being drawn in the sand."

People whose religious beliefs lead them to creationism have more resources than ever to back them up these days. Mr. Juby estimates a dozen new creationist museums have opened in North America in the past five years.

He consulted on the Big Valley Creation Science Museum, which opened earlier this month in Alberta. Thousands of people have visited the state-of-the-art Creation Museum in Kentucky since it opened last month, not long after three of 10 Republican U.S. presidential candidates declared they don't believe in evolution.

According to the Angus Reid poll, Canadians who are younger than 34, have an income of more than $50,000 a year or are university-educated are significantly more likely to believe in evolution.

Quebeckers embrace evolution more than other Canadians, with 71 per cent saying they believe humans evolved over millions of years and only 9 per cent reporting they believe in creationism.

The poll demonstrates how secularization during Quebec's Quiet Revolution in the 1960s still resonates today, said Craig Worden, vice-president of public affairs for Angus Reid.

The results of the evolution poll "may speak to a need in our education system to speak to history that predates the 20th century," Mr. Worden said.

"There is a large segment of the population that is confused."

Evolution skeptics

A poll asked 1,088 adult Canadians what they believe about the origin of man.

Evolution: Human beings evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years

British Columbia 65%
Alberta 58%
Manitoba/Saskatchewan 56%
Ontario 51%
Quebec 71%
Atlantic 53%
Canada 59%
United States* 53%
(*Separate poll by USA Today of 1,007 American adults)

Creation: God created human beings in their present form within the last 10,000 years

British Columbia 21%
Alberta 28%
Manitoba/Saskatchewan 33%
Ontario 26%
Quebec 9%
Atlantic 26%
Canada 22%

Not Sure

British Columbia 15%
Alberta 14%
Manitoba/Saskatchewan 11%
Ontario 23%
Quebec 20%
Atlantic 21%
Canada 19%

SOURCE: http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20070619/wxlcreation19.html