A quick note on evolution polls.

This is the poll I mention in this week's podcast. As you can see, there's a teeeeeny tiny number of people that believe  humans developed through natural processes alone. The three answers to the question "which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the origin and development of human beings?" are:
1. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided the process.
2. God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.
3. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in the process.

Glass half full: the number of people that believe #3 to be true has gone up to almost 20%.
Glass half empty: what the fuck are the rest of those people up there in the 80%?

Right, I know I shouldn't criticize those that believe God "created" evolution. I should welcome them into the fold with open arms because they're at least attempting to see the evidence in front of them. I just can't do it, though. It feels like a copout and it is. Obviously this study conflates the ideas of the creation story with the age of the earth as well. Some would argue that those are two entirely different topics, however, in my book, they typically go hand in hand. I don't hear from a ton of people that believe we developed naturally over only thousands of years (vs. millions) because that's when the earth came into being or big-banged or whatever. If you're going to believe in facts and evidence (archaeological, geographical, etc.) you can't pick and choose which ones align with the book you subscribe to. At any rate, intelligent design (#1) and creationism (#2) still rule in the U.S. and that kind of breaks my heart.