How was humankind created?
“It is intriguing that 37% of people believe that humans evolved by a process of evolution which removes any need for God. 28% of people think that humans evolved by a process of evolution which can be seen as part of God’s plan. 11% believe in Intelligent Design (the idea that humans evolved by a process of evolution which required the special intervention of God or a higher power at key stages) and 17% believe that human beings were created by God some time within the last 10,000 years.”
This is an extract from a piece by the British think tank Theos commenting on a survey which the organisation commissioned on the beliefs of people across the UK. The “Guardian” has turned the results into a map so that you can see the variation in belief across nations and regions of the UK.
Me? I’m firmly in the 37% category.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Evolution does not “remove the need for God” — one of the choices shown on the Guardian’s map. Evolution explains how life developed once it arose, but does not address the origin of life itself. So, strictly speaking, an atheist or agnostic who accepts the theory of evolution would have to select “other” in the Theos poll.
It would be good to see the actual questions asked, but I cannot find them on the websites of Theos or Comres (who conducted the survey), or elsewhere. Given the tendentious nature of the questions in Theos’ previous Darwin poll (see Reasons to doubt that Darwin poll), I’m not optimistic that this latest poll was any better designed.