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SALT LAKE CITY — A new Gallup poll shows 46 percent of Americans believe in creationism, or that God created human beings in their present form.
Pollsters asked participants which of three options for human creation best matched their views on the origin and development of human beings.
- Theistic evolution: Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process
- Evolution: Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process
- Creationism: God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so
Forty six percent of those polled believe in creationism, 32 percent believe in theistic evolution and 15 percent believe in evolution without any divine intervention.
This represents a small increase over the past 30 years in the number of Americans who believe in creationism and those who believe in evolution. The number who believe in theistic evolution has decreased in the same time period.
Church attendance was strongly correlated to the findings. Among those who say they attend church weekly, two-thirds believe in creationism, 25 percent believe in theistic evolution and 3 percent believe in evolution.
Those who believe in creationism are also more likely to be Republican while those who believe in evolution are more likely to be Democrats. Gallup noted, "Highly religious Americans are more likely to be Republican than those who are less religious, which helps explain the relationship between partisanship and beliefs about human origins."
Gallup also reported that the poll shows Americans' views on the issue are basically the same as they were 30 years ago, when Gallup first asked about it.
View more poll results at Gallup.com.
