Evolution is a signal for real Republican populism

Evolution is a signal for real Republican populism

New York Magazine has a rundown of the attitudes of some of the G.O.P. candidates for the nomination in regards to evolution. Remember, this is an issue which is split down the middle in the American populace, but elites have a strong skew toward accepting evolution. This is probably why despite a majority Creationist primary electorate in 2008 the majority of Republican candidates still agreed with the evolutionary position. In 2012 it looks like the Creationism or semi-Creationist contingent is going to get larger.

In the General Social Survey they asked in the late 2000s whether respondents accepted that “humans developed from animals.” The response was dichotomous. Here are some results for various population groups:

Accepts human development from animals

Democrat
59

Independent
53

Republican
42

Liberal
69

Moderate
52

Conservative
39

White
54

Black
35

Hispanic
52

No high school diploma
42

High school diploma
46

Junior college
53

Bachelor
63

Graduate
72

New England
81

Mid Atlantic
60

Great Lakes
52

Upper Midwest
54

South Atlantic
46

East South Central
29

Southwest
38

Mountain
53

Pacific
64

Protestant
35

Catholic
65

Jewish
79

No religion
79

Age 18-34
58

Age 36-64
51

Age 65-*
43

Razib Khan