What in creation?

Posted at 4:26 PM on September 22, 2009 by Bob Collins (7 Comments)
Filed under: Religion, Science

What happens to child stars? Sometimes, they grow up to lead a movement to subvert Charles Darwin Day. Take Kirk Cameron, for example, who starred in the '80s sitcom, "Growing Pains."

Cameron and other activists plan to deliver to schools 50,000 altered copies of Darwin's Origin of Species on November 21st, Huffington Post reported.



In his video, Cameron says young people can no longer pray in public or open a Bible in school, neither of which is true. He also says a survey said 61% of professors in biology and psychology are atheist or agnostic. "No wonder atheism has doubled in the last 20 years among 19 to 25 year olds," he says.

Maybe. Maybe not. A 2007 survey of all institutions and all professors, found , most believe in God. At "elite" schools, the number of atheists was only 37 percent.

Coincidentally, Trinity College released a survey today showing 22 percent of 18-29 year olds "claim the nonreligious label, a jump from 11 percent in 1990." But that doesn't mean they don't believe in God:

Nones may best be described as skeptics. Twenty-seven percent of Nones believe in a personal God. Hard and soft agnostics make up 35 percent of the None population and atheists account for only 7 percent of Nones. Contrary to what many believe, Nones are not particularly superstitious or partial to New Age beliefs. They are, however, more accepting of human evolution than the general U.S. population.

This week, "Creation" opens in the UK.



The movie, however, is not being distributed in the U.S. Science Blog has the review:

"The film has many historical inaccuracies, but that's to be expected when filmmakers condense a life into a few hours. Creation's larger problem stems from the decision to focus on a narrow slice of Darwin's life, arguably one of the least interesting. ... Instead of dramatizing how Darwin traveled the world and arrived at the most explosive idea in history, Creation is ultimately about the world's biggest case of writer's block."

There's little evidence to supportCameron's concerns that evolution might take root in America. A Gallup poll last February indicated only 39% of those surveyed believe in the theory.

In a University of Minnesota biology professor's class survey of incoming freshmen last year, one out of 4 students was taught creationism. "Most students want to know more about evolution," Randy Moore told MPR's Perry Finelli last winter. "They know almost nothing about it when they get here.

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Comments (7)

Please don't look to Hollywood for scientific or theological knowledge. That is where Scientology sprouted after all.

Posted by kennedy | September 22, 2009 5:22 PM

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I hear they've gotten more ambitious and plan on distributing 100,000 copies of their "prefaced" (defaced?) version of "Origin".

I encourage people to read "Origin of Species" for historical background, then read some modern books on the subject such as "Why Evolution is True" by Jerry Coyne, "The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins (released in the US today), "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin.

These are real scientists doing real research.

Posted by Jim!!! | September 22, 2009 5:24 PM

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There are -too few- atheists, and too many people who believe that there's some kind of fairy tale grandpa who is going to grant their wishes and tell them what to do and how to live. Gramps will keep them from asking questions, seeking truth and learning about the way the world really works. This book distribution is a desperate attempt to bring people who are waking up back into the fold of the blind.

Posted by Michelle | September 22, 2009 7:09 PM

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Here's a good response to the Cameron/Comfort nonsense (some mild bad language and a wonderful accent): youtube video by Cristina

Posted by Jim!!! | September 22, 2009 11:01 PM

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I find it insulting that the Creationists continue to act as though they are the persecuted minority in this fight.

Heck, the fact that it is relevant to even ask the question "do you *believe* in darwinian evolution?" shows that we (scientists, rationalists) are losing. Nobody asks whether or not one *believes* in gravity, or whether you *believe* in the germ theory of disease.

More food for thought: atheists are more distrusted than muslims, homosexuals, or any of a number of racial/ethnic groups:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1786422&page=1

Posted by Ryan | September 23, 2009 10:11 AM

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The fairy-tale grandfather God image is what I understood as a child. Some fundamentalists stay there while progressives adjust their description of God to fit their changing understanding of the world. Stereotyping a group by the most vociferous members can be inaccurate. People used to think all homosexuals behaved like those in the gay pride parades.

Here is a link to the ELCA statement on evolution if you are interested.

Posted by kennedy | September 23, 2009 3:45 PM

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The Trinity College survey is screwed up. Their definitions are wrong.

Every person on the planet is either a theist or an atheist. There is no third category. The best question to ask: Do you believe that one or more gods exist? If you answer yes, you're a theist. If you answer no, you're an atheist. The percentage of atheists and theists necessarily needs to add up to 100.

Trinity mixed in gnostic/agnostic. Gnostic/agnostic pertains to certainty, not the belief or lack of belief itself. Theists can be gnostic or agnostic. Atheists as an entire group can't be gnostic or agnostic, because one cannot be certain or doubtful of a lack of belief, but there are subgroups of atheists that can be gnostic or agnostic, e.g., the subgroup of atheists who believe that no gods exist. (Subtle difference here between this point of view and lack of belief.)

When people are asked the proper straightforward question, Do you believe that one or more gods exist?, the results typically come out to be 80-85% yes. That means the rest, 15-20%, are atheists.

Posted by Tamara | September 24, 2009 2:59 PM

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