WASHINGTON — Nearly two-thirds of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools, according to a new poll, but there is far less agreement over who gets to decide what is taught.
The poll, released Aug. 30 by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, found that three-quarters of Americans believe God created life on Earth, and 64 percent support teaching both evolution and creationism. The battle over evolution in the classroom has flared in public school districts in Kansas, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
The poll showed 41 percent of Americans want parents to decide what children are taught, compared with a slightly larger combined group who think the decision should be made by teachers, at 28 percent, or local school boards, with 21 percent. Those figures roughly mirror the number of Americans who believe that life has always existed as we know it today — 42 percent — vs. those who believe life has evolved over time — 48 percent.
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