"Britons Unconvinced On Evolution"

In days like these western media is renowned for its portrayal of those who do not believe that the Theory of Evolution is valid. Indeed, the stereotypical Bible-thumping backwoods American is a commonplace representation. So when I stumbled upon this article from the pro-Evolution BBC no doubt I was pleasantly surprised. A link to the article in full is provided here.

"Just under half of Britons accept the theory of evolution as the best description for the development of life, according to an opinion poll. Furthermore, more than 40% of those questioned believe that creationism or intelligent design (ID) should be taught in school science lessons.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI for the BBC's Horizon series.

Its latest programme, A War on Science, looks into the attempt to introduce ID into science classes in the US.

Over 2,000 participants took part in the survey, and were asked what best described their view of the origin and development of life:

22% chose creationism

17% opted for intelligent design

48% selected evolution theory

and the rest did not know."

"Andrew Cohen, editor of Horizon, commented: 'I think that this poll represents our first introduction to the British public's views on this issue.'

'Most people would have expected the public to go for evolution theory, but it seems there are lots of people who appear to believe in an alternative theory for life's origins.'

When given a choice of three descriptions for the development of life on Earth, people were asked which one or ones they would like to see taught in science lessons in British schools:

44% said creationism should be included

41% intelligent design

69% wanted evolution as part of the science curriculum.

Participants over 55 were less likely to choose evolution over other groups."