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More than a decade ago, in 2006, the magazine Science released this graph showing acceptance of the trend in over 34 countries.
If you’re looking for the United States, we’re the one near the bottom of this list, with a paltry 40% agreeing that evolution is true. The only country inferior to us in scientific culture was Turkey.
The latest Gallup poll on the subject, from 2019, found something a little more optimistic. Only 22% of Americans correctly stated that humans have developed over millions of years without God playing a role in the process. But an additional 33% of Americans agreed with the term “developed over millions of years”; they just felt God was leading the process. However, it is 55% of Americans who have accepted evolution.
This is a very low rate of acceptance of reality. But… yes to be in the majority?
We can now add another payload to this collection. According to a new article published in the journal Public understanding of science, the researchers looked at national surveys collected over the past 35 years to see what acceptance of evolution looked like during that time period. What they found was that acceptance of evolution “has increased dramatically over the past decade.”
The polls they used asked the same question throughout that time: do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier animal species.” (They didn’t ask about the role of God.) They found that over the past decade, the percentage of Americans who agreed with this phrase increased from 40% to 54%.
“From 1985 to 2010, there was a statistical deadlock between the acceptance and rejection of evolution,” said senior researcher Jon D. Miller of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. “Corn acceptance then surged, becoming the majority position in 2016.“
Looking at data over 35 years, the study consistently identified aspects of education – civic science literacy, attending college science courses, and having a college degree – as the most important factors leading to acceptance. of evolution.
“Almost twice as many Americans had a college degree in 2018 than in 1988,” said co-author Mark Ackerman, a researcher at Michigan Engineering, UM School of Information and Michigan Medicine. “It’s hard to get a college degree without gaining at least some respect for the success of science. “
NS ! Majority! The number is not high enough… but it is moving in the right direction. So what has moved the numbers in the right direction and how can we continue? As Ackerman said, going to college helped:
Completion of one or more college science courses was the best predictor of adult acceptance of the course among demographic variables …
They also noted a positive correlation with college graduation and a negative correlation with age (older people were less likely to accept the evolution), but here’s one that surprised me: having children also helped.
Ultimately, another family demographics of interest is the number of minor children at the respondent’s home. Although we often think of adults as passing on scientific information to their children, research over the past decades has shown that many parents learn new scientific information by helping their children. with homework, helping with science fair projects, and answering questions that arise when visiting science museums or viewing science-related events on television
Religious fundamentalism is obviously an obstacle for many Americans when it comes to evolution, as is political partisanship. But overall, the trends are going in the right direction. The researchers say they don’t think science deniers are finally changing sides; rather, they believe that the “uncertain” crowd accepts reality.
As more and more Americans graduate (which they are), they are getting a basic dose of science education, which is good news. As more Americans move away from organized religion, they escape the kind of anti-science rhetoric heard in so many churches across the country, which is good news. I would also add that as we find more and more places for science communicators (YouTube, TikTok, whatever), as much as we know bad communication thrives, there are also ways to spread good information. to the masses.
We are therefore a nation that has a long way to go in terms of evolution. But if recent trends are any indication, it is a step in the right direction.
(Featured image via Shutterstock)
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