Only 1 in 5 Americans Believe in Complete Evolution Without God - New Poll

By Katherine Weber, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A new poll indicates that only one in five Americans believe in evolution without the guidance of God, while a majority at 62 percent believe God played some role in human creation.

The results come from a recent YouGov poll, which was conducted among 1,000 participants in the U.S. from July 8 to 9 and questioned peoples' views on the origins of humans.

The poll asked the question "Which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the origin of human beings," with 21 percent answering "Human beings evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, and God did not directly guide this process."

A total of 62 percent answered that God had a hand in human creation, with only 27 percent saying "Human [beings] evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, but God guided this process."

In addition, 55 percent said, "God created human beings in their present form within the last ten thousand years."

A total of 17 percent of participants said they were unsure of the origins of man.

The YouGov poll says that although these results indicate a small portion of the American population believing in pure, godless evolution, they actually show a spike in pure evolutionists, compared to a poll taken in 2004.

The same question was asked by a CBS poll in 2004 and found that only 13 percent believe in total evolution without God; when the question was asked again in 2008, the number rose to 15 percent, and as seen by the most recent findings, the number has now risen to 21 percent.

YouGov said in a press release that the number of Americans believing wholly in evolution without the influence of God may increase in the coming years, if the trend from 2004 to 2013 continues.

"This number may continue to increase in the coming years, as the belief in evolution without the influence of God is most common among those 18-29 years old, with 31% of those in that age group believing it," the U.K.-based market research firm said in the press release.

The recent YouGov poll also asked Americans what they thought about the teaching of creationism in public schools, with 40 percent saying they favor the teaching of creationism and intelligent design, and 32 percent saying they oppose it; 29 percent said they are not sure.

Of those results, 57 percent of Republicans favor the teaching of creationism, compared to only 30 percent of Democrats; only five percent of Republicans believe God played no role in human creation or evolution.

YouGov, an internet-based, international market research firm founded in the U.K., conducted the survey among a "representative sample of 1,000 Americans" earlier in July.