Darwin Day Opinion Poll 2007 Results

1. Do you agree with the theory of evolution? (that species change over time)

[] yes 47 []no 22 [] don’t know 1

2. Scientists say that dinosaurs roamed the Earth 65 million years ago. Do you accept that?

[] yes 62 [] no 8 [] don’t know 0

3. What can we learn from fossils?

[] a lot 60 [] not much 8 [] nothing 2

4. How close is the relationship between humans and apes?

[] close (cousins) 48 [] no relationship 18 [] don’t know 4

5. Who wrote Genesis?

[] Moses 15 [] don’t know 55

6. How would you describe the account of creation that Moses gives there?

[] folktale/fantasy 51 [] reliable account 16 [] eye witness 3

7. Should Genesis and evolution get equal time in science lessons?

[] yes 22 [] no 48 [] don’t know 0

The above results were gathered over a two hour period in the city centre, Belfast, on Saturday 17 February 2007 and again the following Saturday. Passers-by were asked if they would take a few moments to help with the survey and record their opinions. A good many refused (for various reasons and none), so the poll is partly self-selecting. Nevertheless, Humanists will no doubt be encouraged to see that support for evolution comes in at a ratio of nearly 70 - 30 in favour. That ratio holds for questions Q1, Q6 and Q7. The ratio climbs even higher on questions Q3 and Q2, which would suggest that most people are willing to accept the scientific account of the history of Planet Earth, so long as human origins are not mentioned. Acceptance of the fossil record and the history of the dinosaurs may well pave the way for more acceptance of the evolution of humankind. Finally, it is worth noting that 22 people were creationist in outlook, but only 15 of them knew that Moses wrote Genesis – the other 7 may have learned something mind-changing in the course of the poll (we hope!).

See the video to get a sample of the views we encountered on the streets of Belfast (return to the Activities page and click the other link).