3 ms·

" Since 1982, between 40% and 50% of adults in the United States say they hold the creationist view that 'God created humans in their present form at one time w

" Since 1982, between 40% and 50% of adults in the United States say they hold the creationist view that 'God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years'. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism

code4life 13y ago
Just because they believe the creation event was done in the last 10,000 years doesn't mean they believe the earth is 10,000 years old. God created Adam and Eve as adults. They had an age (non zero). The stars had light immediately shining across the sky. So this implies age (via time). etc.
- halostatue 13y ago
  That’s essentially the day-age view, and surprisingly few creationists subscribe to that (and no young earth creationists do so). It doesn’t change that even if you believe in day-age creationism, you’re accepting something that has no more basis in reality than the various creation tales in the Vedas do.
- bunderbunder 13y ago
  What a fascinating word game.
eco 13y ago
A bit nitpicking but that's a different statement than saying the earth is 6,000 years old. "Humans in their present form" is a very vague statement. You could take it to mean god imparted the knowledge of agriculture upon humans which had a hugely transformative effect on mankind which made modern humans what they are today. Or you could say god imparted the biblical knowledge of right and wrong and that allowed humans to become what they are today. Hell, it could even be interpreted as true by evolution believing religious people with a poor understanding of the timescales evolution operates over. I'm very skeptical of the idea that around half of the people around me think the existence of the earth or humans are less than 10,000 years old and I live in an extremely religious state (Utah). Mormons aren't known for being creationists though so perhaps my personal experience is unusual.
- rallison 13y ago
  Indeed. Here is the actual poll from Gallup with historical data: http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/hold-creationist-view-human-origins.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/hold-creationist-view-huma... And, more importantly, the linked poll questions and methodology: http://www.gallup.com/file/poll/155006/Creationism_120601.pdf http://www.gallup.com/file/poll/155006/Creationism_120601.pd... So, yes, while there will be a fair bit of overlap between those who answered "created in their present from in the last 10,000 years" and those who believe the earth is less than 6,000 years old, the questions are not equivalent.
bhauer 13y ago
I don't know a thing about religion or theology, so take this with a huge grain of salt. But I still don't really buy the accuracy of these numbers for the matter at hand here. I suspect that when asked by a pollster, someone who answers affirmative to this question is doing so because their religion has told them to believe that. The pollster probably doesn't ask a follow-up question of the form, "C'mon, really?" I suspect the answer would often be, "Yeah, not really. But the priest/minister/religion-dude/whatever says it a whole bunch, plus it's in that book we are forced to read over and over." People like to have their pet beliefs that they know to be factually incorrect. I like to believe my taste in music is superior to just about everyone else's. But it's not. Apologies for my sacrilege here if you are religious.
- jlgreco 13y ago
  > The pollster probably doesn't ask a follow-up question of the form, "C'mon, really?" I suspect the answer would often be, "Yeah, not really. But the priest/minister/religion-dude/whatever says it a whole bunch, plus it's in that book we are forced to read over and over." Yes, if the pollster started bullying people who answered one way, that would probably warp the results... those polls are performed by polling organizations that are well regarded because they don't try to warp their polling results like that. The mere fact that so many Americans would answer that way, even if they didn't honestly believe it 6 days out of the week, is 1) notable, 2) disturbing.
- LokiSnake 13y ago
  The numbers probably aren't accurate for big coastal cities, but when you take all of the States into account, it isn't inconceivable.

code4life 13y ago

Just because they believe the creation event was done in the last 10,000 years doesn't mean they believe the earth is 10,000 years old. God created Adam and Eve as adults. They had an age (non zero). The stars had light immediately shining across the sky. So this implies age (via time). etc.

halostatue 13y ago
That’s essentially the day-age view, and surprisingly few creationists subscribe to that (and no young earth creationists do so). It doesn’t change that even if you believe in day-age creationism, you’re accepting something that has no more basis in reality than the various creation tales in the Vedas do.
bunderbunder 13y ago
What a fascinating word game.

eco 13y ago

A bit nitpicking but that's a different statement than saying the earth is 6,000 years old. "Humans in their present form" is a very vague statement. You could take it to mean god imparted the knowledge of agriculture upon humans which had a hugely transformative effect on mankind which made modern humans what they are today. Or you could say god imparted the biblical knowledge of right and wrong and that allowed humans to become what they are today. Hell, it could even be interpreted as true by evolution believing religious people with a poor understanding of the timescales evolution operates over. I'm very skeptical of the idea that around half of the people around me think the existence of the earth or humans are less than 10,000 years old and I live in an extremely religious state (Utah). Mormons aren't known for being creationists though so perhaps my personal experience is unusual.

rallison 13y ago
Indeed. Here is the actual poll from Gallup with historical data: http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/hold-creationist-view-human-origins.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/hold-creationist-view-huma... And, more importantly, the linked poll questions and methodology: http://www.gallup.com/file/poll/155006/Creationism_120601.pdf http://www.gallup.com/file/poll/155006/Creationism_120601.pd... So, yes, while there will be a fair bit of overlap between those who answered "created in their present from in the last 10,000 years" and those who believe the earth is less than 6,000 years old, the questions are not equivalent.

bhauer 13y ago

I don't know a thing about religion or theology, so take this with a huge grain of salt. But I still don't really buy the accuracy of these numbers for the matter at hand here. I suspect that when asked by a pollster, someone who answers affirmative to this question is doing so because their religion has told them to believe that. The pollster probably doesn't ask a follow-up question of the form, "C'mon, really?" I suspect the answer would often be, "Yeah, not really. But the priest/minister/religion-dude/whatever says it a whole bunch, plus it's in that book we are forced to read over and over." People like to have their pet beliefs that they know to be factually incorrect. I like to believe my taste in music is superior to just about everyone else's. But it's not. Apologies for my sacrilege here if you are religious.

jlgreco 13y ago
> The pollster probably doesn't ask a follow-up question of the form, "C'mon, really?" I suspect the answer would often be, "Yeah, not really. But the priest/minister/religion-dude/whatever says it a whole bunch, plus it's in that book we are forced to read over and over." Yes, if the pollster started bullying people who answered one way, that would probably warp the results... those polls are performed by polling organizations that are well regarded because they don't try to warp their polling results like that. The mere fact that so many Americans would answer that way, even if they didn't honestly believe it 6 days out of the week, is 1) notable, 2) disturbing.
LokiSnake 13y ago
The numbers probably aren't accurate for big coastal cities, but when you take all of the States into account, it isn't inconceivable.