Why Belief in Creationism Is At An All-time Low

It has been well documented that the number of people who have rejected Christianity and left the church has skyrocketed in recent years. By the same token, the number of “nones” (those who claim to have no religion) has also skyrocketed. For the most part, there is a direct correlation. That is, a large percentage of the ones who are now “nones” used to claim they were Christians. Thus, it is also not surprising that the number of people who believe in creationism has also plummeted.

In July of this year (2024) the Gallup organization asked respondents about their beliefs concerning creation. They actually started polling this question back in 1982. Here is a sampling of their results from this latest polling.

• Thirty-seven percent of Americans remain creationist purists – an all-time recorded low.
• The Theory of Evolution is accepted by 24% of U.S. adults – an all-time high.
• Thirty-four percent of Americans believe in theistic evolution – the belief that humans evolved, but with God's guidance.
• Belief in creationism and theistic evolution hit their peaks of 47% and 40%, respectively, in 1999, and have since trended downward.
• Views on human origins continue to vary significantly depending on people's religious identification, how often they attend church, their political ideology, and their education level.
• Majorities of U.S. adults who attend religious services at least weekly or monthly tend to identify as politically conservative, are Protestant, and believe that God created human beings in their present form.
• A majority of “nones” and political liberals, as well as pluralities of those who attend religious services less than monthly, believe humans evolved over millions of years without any involvement from God.
• Pluralities of Catholics and college graduates believe in theistic evolution.

It is not at all surprising that most “nones” believe in the Theory of Evolution. These people are mostly atheistic Naturalists who believe that the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists. If that is, indeed, true, then there is really not any other possibility. The very existence of life, and all of the life forms that currently exist would have had to come into being by some natural means. Not only that, they have to also believe that if only technology and scientific knowledge can advance enough, mankind is capable of ultimately understanding the entire evolutionary process. After all, if it is all based on natural processes, it would be completely possible for science to ultimately tease out all of nature’s secrets.

What these people don’t seem to realize is that their assumption that naturalistic evolution is true, and that science has the ability to ultimately understand the entire process, is not a scientific point of view. In fact, there is absolutely no science whatsoever able to back up that belief. It is the belief of naturalistic philosophy, not of science, that brings people to that conclusion. That is, it is a religious (faith) belief, not a scientific one. 

In order for naturalistic beliefs to be true, there are several things that would have to be proven true using the scientific method. This is necessary because the very definition of Naturalism requires it.

1. Matter must have a natural source. After all, since no God or transcendent reality is acknowledged to exist, there is no other possibility. The problem is, there is no science to back up this assumption.

2. Life must have emerged from non-life. Again, since no God or transcendent reality is acknowledged to exist, there is no other possibility. Here also, though, there is no science to back it up.

3. More complex life must have evolved from less complex forms. This is the belief of the Theory of Evolution. While this is taught as true in most schools and science textbooks, the basic premise of the theory does not have any actual science behind it. It begins with the assumptions of Naturalism, then draws its conclusions based on those assumptions. There is absolutely no science that has ever demonstrated that less complex life forms have evolved to more complex ones.

4. Consciousness must have emerged from non-consciousness. Once again, based on naturalistic assumptions, there is no other possibility. That said, scientists cannot even agree on how consciousness works. There are numerous theories, but no actual science to back any of them up.

So why, then, is belief in creationism at an all time low? It is because Naturalism has come to dominate virtually every institution of modern society. It is taught as true in our educational institutions, promoted in the media, and wholeheartedly expressed in the arts and entertainment, in government, in business, and has even filtered down to many churches and families. Even though Naturalism cannot be backed up by its own requirements, it is assumed to be true in a large part of society.

The only remedy for false beliefs is true beliefs. While naturalistic beliefs cannot be supported by its own requirements, the beliefs of the Christian faith can. God does exist, and His revelation of Himself in the Bible is true. And we can know that because we can know Him in a personal relationship.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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