The theory of evolution that living things are not immutable but change gradually over a long period of time is an accepted theory, but based on the creation theory that humans were created by God, there are cases where it is not treated in schools in areas where religion is the mainstream. In the United States, where Christianity based on creationism is the overwhelming majority, so far the majority of the evolutionary negatives have been, but a new study has revealed that the evolutionary positives have become the majority.
The theory of evolution is the theory that all living things have evolved to reach their present form, but it is different from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, including the Book of Genesis, that God created men and women in the image of God who created them in His image. In Turkey, where more than 99% of the population is Muslim, a survey conducted in 2005 found that only 27% of the evolutionary supporters were positive.
Although the United States is a science and technology superpower that has introduced numerous scientific technologies such as powered airplanes and telegraph telephones, incandescent lamps and phonographs, and the Manhattan Project and space exploration technology, there have been cases in which religious factions in the country did not teach the theory of evolution due to deep-rooted opposition in science education. The content of this education on evolution was raised several times in the 1925 Scopes edition in charge of Clarence Darrow, a legendary figure in the American legal circle, and the Arkansas equal class time law trial in 1982. There have also been reports of a move to remove explanations of evolution from textbooks.
Although such negative movements have been reported against the theory of evolution, an analysis of a nationwide public opinion poll conducted by the University of Michigan Social Research Institute revealed that the positive opinion of the theory of evolution broke through the majority. According to the analysis, it was in 2016 that the evolutionary positive wave broke the majority, and from 2009 to 2019, the proportion of American adults belonging to the evolutionary positive wave rose from 40% to 54%.
This analysis also reveals that the percentage of religious fundamentalists who accept the theory of evolution is increasing in the United States. In the United States, the proportion of people who consider themselves to be religious fundamentalists remains around 30%, but among them, the number of people who accept the theory of evolution is rapidly rising from 8% in 1988 to 32% in 2019.
According to the survey, the reason for the increase in the positive wave of the theory of evolution is that educational success, such as an increase in citizen science ability, an increase in the rate of university science courses, and an increase in the rate of obtaining a university degree, is explained. In the United States, the rate of obtaining a college degree is doubling from 1988 to 2018. Related information can be found here.