Rescuing Darwin

Two hundred years after Charles Darwin’s birth in 1809, at least half of the British population is still skeptical about the theory of evolution. That is the finding of a new study released by Theos, a London think tank that brings theological perspectives to bear on public issues. With the support of a $600,000 grant from the Templeton Foundation, Theos has embarked on a campaign called "Rescuing Darwin," which aims to show that Darwin never espoused many of the views commonly associated with him, especially atheism.

A survey of more than 2,000 people commissioned by Theos and conducted by the polling agency ComRes revealed that only 25 percent of British adults think that evolution is “definitely true,” with another quarter thinking it is “probably true.” Around 10 percent consistently choose “young earth” creationism (the belief that God created the world some time in the last 10,000 years) over evolution, and about 12 percent consistently prefer intelligent design (the idea that evolution alone is not enough to explain the complex structures of some living things). The remainder of the population, over 25 percent, are unsure of their views and often mix evolution, ID, and creationism together.