Neanderthal skull from Forbes' Quarry, Gibraltar. Photo by AquilaGib. CC BY-SA 3.0.
A new report from the Survey Center on American Life contains information about the American public's attitudes toward whether evolution explains the origins of humans, whether God is involved in evolution, and whether scientists generally accept the Big Bang.
Presented with "Evolution is the best explanation for the origins of human life on earth," 29 percent of respondents completely agreed, 32 percent somewhat agreed, 15 percent somewhat disagreed, and 22 percent completely disagreed, while 2 percent refused to answer.
The report commented, "Views have shifted noticeably over the past 15 years. In 2008, Americans were divided in their views about evolution, with roughly equal numbers agreeing and disagreeing that it best explained the origins of life (46 percent vs. 48 percent)."
Asked "Which comes closest to your view?" and presented with a version of Gallup's evolution prompt, 38 percent of respondents preferred "Humans and other living things have evolved over time due to processes that were guided or allowed by God or a higher power," 31 percent preferred "Humans and other living things have evolved over time due to processes such as natural selection; God or a higher power had no role in this process," and 12 percent preferred "Humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time," while 17 percent were not sure and 1 percent refused to answer.
Respondents who were religiously unaffiliated (67 percent) and respondents with postgraduate educational backgrounds (48 percent) were significantly more likely to prefer the "God or a higher power had no role in this process" response.
Finally, respondents were split (49 to 48 percent) on "Scientists generally believe that the universe was created in a single, violent event, often called 'the Big Bang' and "Scientists are divided in their views about how the universe was created," with 3 percent refusing to answer.
The American Perspectives Survey was conducted among a sample of 5055 U.S. adults selected from a probability-based panel between May 16 and May 24, 2023. The margin of sampling error is +/- 1.5 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
