Back in December, 2010 a Gallup Poll revealed that approximately 40% of Americans believe that god created man exactly as we are now about 10,000 years ago. Literally. Not as a fable. Not as allegory. Literally.

Another 38% accept that man evolved from lower organisms but that god guided the process.

Only 16% accepted evolution as having occurred without divine intervention - an increase from 9% in a previous poll. The rest had no opinion.

The belief in "creationism" is strongly tied to educational levels. Among those with college degrees (!) The level of creationist belief fell to a mere 37% while those holding unabashed secular evolution beliefs rose to 21%.

These statistics are at odds with views in the rest of the industrialized world, where evolution is accepted by the majority of adults.

With regards to political affiliation, a majority of Republicans (52 percent) subscribe to creationist beliefs. This is compared to only 34 percent among Democrats and Independents.

Views on human origins vary based on church attendance. Of those who attend church on a weekly basis, 60 percent believe in creationism while a mere 2 percent subscribe to "secular evolution". These numbers are flipped among those who rarely or never attend religious services. In this group, only 24 percent believe in creationism while 39 percent believe in evolution without divine guidance. This represents the only subset of data reported where "secular evolution" beats out creationism.

So what are we to make of these stats?

Do creationist folk REALLY believe man was created as is 10,000 years ago? Or do they answer a pollster with the response of a cultural warrior determined to give no quarter to those godless, secular humanists? I mean, there is more evidence for the existence of Sasquatch than for creationism. Are they determined to stick with the beliefs of their group, automatically rejecting any evidence to the contrary or are they just giving the "right" answer?

Who knows?

Plenty of local school districts have ordered the teaching of creationism along side evolution as if they were sort of equivalent, competing scientific theories. I don’t think anyone has as yet banned evolution from schools, allowing only creationism. No college I know of has as yet pulled evolution from biology courses.

But hey! There’s still time to wave the flag of stupidity against those elites!

Now as one of those atheist, secular librul commie socialist humanists I occasionally feel oppressed. After all, there is no candidate running that I know of that has come out of the closet and when asked about religion answered with a simple "I am not a believer.  Next question". 

I have to settle for a "progressive" if I can find one who simply pays church lip service during the campaign. I mean even Obama went to church (for which he got in trouble - wrong church) and occasionally shows up at services on a Sunday.

Now Mitt on the other hand is a BELIEVER! At least he wants us to believe he is while at the same time insisting that religion should not be an issue in the campaign.

I mean, does he REALLY believe that Jesus Christ dwelled for a while in North America?  That the Garden of Eden was in Missouri?  That Joseph Smith talked to the Angel Moroni? That Smith found the golden tablets, written in hieroglyphics in upstate New York, was able to translate them miraculously and then gave the tablets back to the Angel? That the prophet had a vision from god telling him to give up polygamy - just about the time Utah wanted to become a state? That god really wants a Latter Day Saints theocracy here in America? That god will raise a Mormon up to save the Constitution "when it hangs by a thread"...(see Mormon White Horse Prophecy).

Sure.

I’m gonna vote for him. 

Next we'll have Tom Cruise running, telling us that religion shouldn't be an issue.