The survey was interesting on a number of points. See below on 'evolution', for example.
However, as relevant as this is to the blog, I was more interested in the way the questions blended a its questions from a naturalist point of view, without being able to examine that point of view itself, which is, of course, a belief.
Typical of naturalism, beliefs, some of which are antithetical to Christian theisim, were lumped in there: belief in psychic powers, in astrology; a survey I recall reading of in Southern Cross years ago reported that lack of belief in God went hand in hand with beliefs in such aberant ideas, and not the other way! It historically has been a robust Christian thesim that has over historical time eliminated these remnants of paganism and replaced it with rational realism.
EVOLUTION:
42 per cent
Creation is a slippery topic. Even scientifically committed Christians feel honour-bound sometimes to grant God a role in the origins of life. That was not Darwin's view. The Nielsen poll untangled this confusion by asking respondents to choose between Darwin, Genesis and Design – the notion that humans developed over millions of years in a process guided by God.
Most Australians believe God played a part in the process. That He created all life at a stroke about 10,000 years ago is believed by 23 per cent of us. That He guided a long process over time is believed by another 32 per cent. The beliefs of Australian Christians are even more dramatic, with 38 per cent supporting Genesis and another 47 per cent favouring the God of Design.
In the year in which the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth was celebrated around the world, only 12 per cent of Australian Christians believe his theory of natural selection. For all the talk of Darwin's preeminence in modern science, attitudes to evolution remain the litmus test of belief and disbelief in Australia. Christians offer the most meager support, while 89 per cent of those who deny God's existence back Darwin.
The figures for the US are more dramatic. Nielsen modelled its questions on a Gallup poll taken in America last year which revealed levels of hostility to Darwin in the general population that mimic the attitudes of committed Christians in Australia. Only 14 per cent of the US population preferred Darwin to God.
My only comment on the quote is to point out the common misunderstanding that Darwin's theory was of 'natural selection'. Not quite. His theory was that the easily observed phenomenon of natural selection, that was identified by the Christian, as we would say today 'creationist' biologist Edward Blyth, prior to Darwin was the driving force behind all known life deriving from a single original form of life, which somehow sprang into being. I don't think anyone minds 'natural selection' or even speciation, what is at issue is that all kinds of life derived from a basic kind. Noel Weeks also has an interesting article on this.
