In Defense of Europe

On September 1, as part of my discussion with Cornelius Troost, I wrote...

I wouldn't describe Europe as being "atheist" or "Darwinist." A majority of Europeans profess belief in God, and while they may say they believe in "evolution," it is almost certainly the intellectually-sloppy "theistic evolution" that many scientists and Christians are trying to propagate as a "compromise."

Today, on The Volokh Conspiracy, I came across an article which affirms my view.

The theory of evolution may face greater resistance in the United States than in most of Europe, but creationist belief is stronger in European nations than many might think.

From the Feb. 27, 2009 issue of Science...

News coverage of the creationism-versus-evolution debate tends to focus on the United States, where surveys consistently show that less than half of Americans accept the theory of evolution. But in the past 5 years, political clashes over the issue have also occurred in countries all across Europe.

In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi's government briefly tried to halt the teaching of evolution in schools in 2004. In 2006, a deputy Polish education minister called the theory of evolution "a lie." In 2007, the education minister of a major German state courted controversy by advocating that creationism and evolution be taught together in biology classes. . . .

Even the birthplace of Charles Darwin is struggling with evolution, despite the myriad celebrations for the 150th anniversary of his On the Origin of Species.

"Creationism is on the rise in the U.K.," says James Williams, a lecturer in science education at the University of Sussex. "Creationists have adopted the attitude that if you get to children young and early, you can indoctrinate them before they even start talking about evolution in schools."

Williams cited a December 2008 Ipsos Mori poll of 923 primary and secondary school-teachers in England and Wales: 37% of the respondents agreed that creationism should be taught in schools alongside evolution. Even among biology and science teachers, the number was 30%.

Unfortunately, the full article is for subscribers only.