Creationism in science classes? Brits give it the green light

According to a Mori poll commissioned by the British Council, more than half the population believes it’s OK for children to be told about creationism and Intelligent Design in school science lessons along with evolution. The poll shows 54 per cent of Britons would not object to biology teachers discussing ‘alternative perspectives’ on the origin of life alongside explanations of evolution.

They also do not object to the introduction of ‘intelligent design’ into science lessons, although the poll did not ask them whether they even knew what intelligent design was.

The Mori poll, which questioned nearly 1,000 Britons as part of a worldwide study of 10,000 people, was published by the British Council as part of its Darwin Now programme, marking 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin’s work On the Origin of Species.

Simultaneous polling was carried out in Argentina, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain and the United States.

Some 21 per cent of Britons said only evolutionary theory should be taught. Britain’s support for giving mythology equal status alongside genuine science is higher than in any of the other countries apart from Argentina and Mexico — but had the lowest proportion, at six per cent — believing that other theories should be taught in preference to evolution.

Worldwide, the survey reveals just over four in 10 (43 per cent) of people believe that evolution should be taught alongside other theories in science lessons, while a fifth (20 per cent) said only evolution should be taught.

In the US, almost a quarter of those questioned (23 per cent) said either other theories but not evolution should be taught, or that no theories should be taught. This figure was 28 per cent in China and 21 per cent in South Africa.

Lewis Wolpert, emeritus professor of biology at University College London said: “I am appalled. It shows how ignorant the public is. Intelligent design and creationism have no connection with science and are purely religious concepts. There is no evidence for them at all. They must be kept out of science lessons.”

Steve Jones, professor of genetics at UCL, and a previous winner of the NSS’s Secularist of the Year award, said: “This shows the danger of religions being allowed to buy schools, hijack lessons and pretend that they have anything useful to say about science – which, by definition, they do not. The figure seems much too high, although no doubt there is a substantial minority that does think this.”

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, added: “I agree with Lewis Wolpert that this illustrates how grotesquely ignorant the public is on this topic. It would be an abuse of children’s education to allow this silly creationist mythology to creep into science lessons and be presented to children as the equivalent of a properly researched and demonstrable theory like evolution. But this kind of ill-informed poll gives creationists new hope that their agenda is gaining credibility. Unfortunately, teachers are now so fearful of contradicting religious perspectives on creationism, especially Islamic ones, that banning them from science lessons is the only way forward.”

See the British Council's online poll on perceptions of Darwin