(December 3, 2014 at 9:55 am)Cato Wrote: I used to think this way; however, education alone won't solve the problem. Jerry Coyne recently posted his thoughts on the matter:
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/...the-facts/
Coyne sites surveys that indicate that a third of Americans don't believe that they can simultaneously believe in God and evolution. This figure hasn't changed substantially in over 30 years. Coyne's conclusion:
Quote:Of course I favor telling Americans what evolution is and giving them the evidence for it. I do it all the time as I continue to lecture and talk on the radio about the evidence for evolution. But I’m also pretty sure that so long as the U.S. is the world’s most religious First World nation, the acceptance of our message will be blocked by faith.
I think there is a subtle issue that most people miss. When the survey asks "do you believe it is possible or not possible to believe in both God and evolution", some Christians who as a practical matter do believe in evolution will answer "no". Most Christians that I know (including myself when I used to be a Christian) believe in a universe that is billions of years old, dinosaurs, etc. They might answer "no" to evolution, because they interpret evolution to be saying that God wasn't involved at all.
Another subtle issue is cognitive dissonance. People will answer the survey according to their denomination's dogma - even though that person's behavior demonstrates disbelief in that dogma.
Like in my case, I sometimes believe there is something like God that is guiding my life. Maybe I am God and forgot about it. Maybe reality is a dream. I agree that God isn't a necessary ingredient in evolution, but sometimes I wonder if God is still influencing events somehow.
I hope I don't ruin my reputation here by admitting my vacillating thoughts. I think it's unfair to assume all those people who answered "no" are completely ignorant. It's just cognitive dissonance at work IMO.
