Poll: 40% of Americans Are Creationists

Creationists beliefs are on the wane but a full 40% of Americans still believe that God created humans in their current form 10,000 years ago, according to the latest Gallup poll. But the proportion of people with creationists beliefs was the lowest since Gallup started asking the question in 1982. The poll also found that some 38% believe that God guided the evolution of humans over millions of years "from less advanced life forms," while 16% believe that humanity evolved without divine intervention.

Believers in creationism tend to be less educated than others, the poll found, and were more likely to be both church-goers and Republicans. Some 52% of Republicans held the strict creationist view, compared to 34% of Democrats. "The significantly higher percentage of Republicans who choose a creationist view of human origins reflects in part the strong relationship between religion and politics in contemporary America," Gallup notes. (More evolution stories.)