Creationists must love Turkey


It is really not surprising how fundamentalism is the same irrespective of the religion because at root it requires the putting on of blinkers on young people so that they believe dogma and not question anything. A draft of the new science curriculum for Turkish students has deferred the teaching of evolution until students enter college because it is too ‘controversial’ and students may bot be able to understand the scientific issues involved. Actually, of pretty much all the major ideas in science, evolution is the easiest to explain and understand.

Evolutionary theory is contentious in some majority-Muslim countries, where creationism—a belief that a divine being created human beings as they exist in their current state—holds sway.

A 2011 survey of 23 countries found that Saudi Arabia, a conservative Islamic kingdom, led the way in terms of creationism, with 75 percent of respondents saying they did not believe in evolution. Turkey was second, with 60 percent of respondents saying they were creationists.

But creationism is also a widely-held belief in some Western or traditionally Christian countries, including the United States. A 2014 poll found that 42 percent of Americans believed that God created humans in their present form around 10,000 years ago.

Birds of a feather indeed.

Comments

  1. mnb0 says

    A couple of months ago I learned that a staggering 24% rejects evolution in my native country The Netherlands.

  2. Matt G says

    I wonder how acceptance of evolution varies by age in Turkey. And whether people have internet access to real science.

  3. busterggi says

    Next up -- the Turkish government repeals the law of gravity to make its space program better.

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