Thanks for your reply, Ken. Here's how the question was phrased:

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Now thinking about how human beings came to exist on Earth, do you, personally, believe in evolution, or not?

An equal number said "no" as "yes" (48% vs. 49%).

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Next, we'd like to ask about your views on two different explanations for the origin and development of life on earth. Do you think -- [ITEMS ROTATED] -- is -- [ROTATED: definitely true, probably true, probably false, (or) definitely false]?

53% said that "Evolution, that is, the idea that human beings developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life" was either definitely, or probably, true. Only 18% said "definitely".

66% said that "Creationism, that is, the idea that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years" was either definitely, or probably, true. 39% said "definitely".

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Which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the origin and development of human beings?

  • 43% said "God created man in his present form"
  • 38% said "Man evolved with God's guidance"
  • 14% said "Man evolved without Divine guidance"


These Gallup folks know what they're doing, Ken. Sometimes their samples are a little bit skewed, but not much. In this survey, they also asked people about their religious and political affiliations. Here's what the results look like with political affiliation as a delimiter:

[Linked Image from media.gallup.com]

Originally Posted by Ken Hill
And even though the US is indeed a very religious, mostly Christian country, I still think the people in the ME have a more imbedded, entwined, and extreme interpretation of it than the people in the US. That’s just a gut feeling and I have no way to prove what I just said.

I agree with you about that, Ken. I think there is a larger, anthropological justification for your "gut feeling". It's a well-established fact that the more educated and technologically advanced a culture becomes, the less religious (or, shall we say, superstitious) they become. The US is an anomaly in that regard.


Steve
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love,
to respect and be kind to one another,
so that we may grow with peace in mind.

(Native American prayer)