More than two thirds of Canadians think that human beings evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, according to a new poll — but less than half think that creationism should not be part of the public school curriculum.
Asked, "Which of these statements comes closest to your own point of view regarding the origin and development of human beings on earth," 44 percent of respondents preferred "Human beings definitely evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years; 24 percent of respondents preferred "probably evolved"; 7 percent preferred "God probably created human beings in the present form within the last 10,000 years"; and 14 percent preferred "God definitely," with 12 percent not sure.
Asked, "Do you think creationism — the belief that the universe and life originated from specific acts of divine creation — should be part of the school curriculum in your province?" (decisions about curriculum in Canada are generally made at the provincial level, by the province's ministry of education), 17 percent of respondents said that it definitely should; 21 percent said that it probably should; 18 percent said that it probably should not; and 28 percent said that it certainly should not, with 16 percent not sure.
The poll was conducted on-line by Research Co. from August 27 to August 30, 2018, among 1,001 adults in Canada. The data was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.