Ignorance and Evolution

Abstract Secular Americans might assume that creationism is the result of a lack of knowledge about evolution. In fact, as this chapter argues, creationists are not distinguished by their lack of knowledge. The best available evidence suggests that all Americans—creationist or not—do not know very much about actual evolutionary theory. Key ideas such as natural selection are vaguely understood, at best. Those who say they believe evolutionary theory tend to be just as ignorant about it as those who say they do not believe it. Creationism tends to be less about what people know than about whom they trust.