World
Darwin Survey Shows International Acceptance of Evolution
Author: British Council
Published on Jul 3, 2009 - 6:23:31 AM

London, 30 June 2009 - A British Council survey into awareness of Charles Darwin and attitudes towards evolution has found that there is a broad international consensus of acceptance towards his theory of evolution.

The British Council, the UK's international body for cultural relations, announced the results of its global survey at the World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) in London on Tuesday 30 June, 2009, as part of its international programme Darwin Now, to mark the publication of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection on 24 November, 1859. The research, conducted by Ipsos MORI, surveyed over ten thousand adults across ten countries worldwide included Argentina, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Great Britain and the USA.

The results show that the majority of adults surveyed have heard of Charles Darwin and know at least a little about his theory of evolution with the highest levels in Great Britain (71%), the USA (71%), Mexico (68%), Argentina (65%), China (54%) and Russia (53%) whilst 62 percent of adults surveyed in Egypt and 73 percent in South Africa said they had never heard of Charles Darwin or his theory of evolution. Overall, the majority (70%) of adults surveyed across the 10 countries have at least heard of the British naturalist.

In all countries surveyed more people showed some agreement than disagreement that 'it is possible to believe in a God and still hold the view that life on Earth, including human life, evolved over time as a result of natural selection'. Adults in India showed the highest level of agreement (85%) from all the countries, followed by Mexico (65%), Argentina (62%), South Africa (54%), Great Britain (54%), Russia (54%), USA (53%), Spain (46%), Egypt (45%), and China (39%).

In six out of ten countries including Argentina (57%), China (72%), Great Britain (62%), India (77%), Mexico (65%) and Spain (61%), the majority of people who had heard of Charles Darwin and know something about his theory of evolution agreed with the opinion that 'enough scientific evidence exists to support Charles Darwin's theory of evolution', compared to an overall average across all the countries surveyed of 56 percent.

Less than half of those surveyed in Russia (48%), South Africa (42%), USA (41%), and Egypt (25%), who know something about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, agreed with the opinion that enough scientific evidence exists to support this theory.

The results also show that people polled in the USA, South Africa and India are the most likely to believe that life on Earth, including human life, was created by a God and has always existed in its current form (all at 43%). The majority of adults in China (67%), Mexico (42%), Argentina (37%), Great Britain (38%), Spain (38%) and Russia (32%) believe that life on Earth, including human life, evolved over time as a result of natural selection, in which no God played a part. Fifty percent of adults in Egypt believed that life on Earth, including human life, evolved over time in a process guided by a God.

Dr Fern Elsdon-Baker, Head of the British Council Darwin Now programme, said: 'The international Darwin survey has thrown up some very interesting results, especially as it includes data from countries not previously covered before. The most encouraging aspect of the survey shows that whilst there are diverse views on Darwin's theory of evolution, there appears to a broad acceptance that science and faith do not have to be in conflict. Whilst the results show that there is some way to go in communicating the evidence of evolutionary theory to wider audiences, it is evident that there is clear space for dialogue on this sometimes complex area of debate.'

A separate survey has been made available by the British Council, for completion by the general public in each of these countries. This can be found by visiting: www.zoomerang.com/Survey/survey.zgi?p=WEB229CD3MTHT5

Over the coming months, this survey will create the largest data set ever gathered on the public's understanding of evolutionary theory.

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