Charles Darwin film too controversial for religious America.

US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

Movieguide.org, an influential site which reviews films from a Christian perspective, described Darwin as the father of eugenics and denounced him as "a racist, a bigot and an 1800s naturalist whose legacy is mass murder". His "half-baked theory" directly influenced Adolf Hitler and led to "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic engineering", the site stated.



The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...s-America.html



This must be really embarrassing for those 39 percent of Americans that know better than the rest of their country.

Only 39% of Americans accept evolution? I really hope that's not true!

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yep 39%, really shows how well their education system works.

Found the source:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/114544/da...evolution.aspx

The statistic might be pretty bad, but not as bad as it looks. For one, 39% is just a hair away from 40%, almost half. At least it is the majority opinion. Also, 36% in the poll don't have an opinion either way, which is probably due to plain apathy.

The 25% who don't believe in evolution is a bit ridicules, though.

There's also a Canadian version:
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view...er_creationism

... on the bright side:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/115258/Ca...ed-Nation.aspx

Thanks for finding the source!

Originally Posted by zensunni

Also, 36% in the poll don't have an opinion either way, which is probably due to plain apathy.

Plain apathy, yes, but I would also guess that they never had to study the basics of evolution in school: had they done so, they would probably be apathetic in their acceptance of evolution, as they are in their acceptance of such things as the existence of dinosaurs.

At least the numbers for Canada are much better, although it is distressing to see that there are still so many people who claim the Earth is less than 10000 years old!

Originally Posted by Kaeso

Plain apathy, yes, but I would also guess that they never had to study the basics of evolution in school: had they done so, they would probably be apathetic in their acceptance of evolution, as they are in their acceptance of such things as the existence of dinosaurs.

That's exactly what I thought, but I couldn't find a specific date for when evolution started being taught in schools. It seemed to vary from education board to education board. In the US, many states differ and a few even had bans that held back progress for years.

Come to think of it, I'm not even sure about evolution being taught in schools today, so I did some digging and found this:
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/200...ght-in-the-us/

By the way, I'd really like to get my hands on that movie, so if anyone gets to it before I do, post your source.

Originally Posted by zensunni

http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/200...ght-in-the-us/

I would contest that map. It lists Pennsylvania as an example of a good state, but if the school I went to (07-08) is any example then their standards are very low. Genetic variation was mildly touched on but there was no use of the term evolution and only passing mention of Darwin. All in all maybe 3/4 of an hour and a half class were spent on the topic.