Wow

This poll was taken earlier this year. I just don't know what to say about the results.

Quick breakdown:

Percent of those polled who believe the Bible story of Noah and the ark is:

Literally true: 60% Not literally true: 33% No opinion: 7%

Percent of those polled who believe the six-day creation story is:

Literally true: 61% Not literally true: 30% No opinion: 8%

Percent of those who think that the story of the Red Sea parting is:

Literally true: 64% Not literally true: 28% No opinion: 8%

Wow. According to the US Census Bureau, the current population of the US is estimated to be just over 293 million. Thus, assuming that the above polling data is representative (they did have a sample size of 1011, and claim a +/- 3% MoE), anywhere between 176 and 188 million people share the sentiments of those polled.

This despite the existence of abundant evidence showing that the universe is ancient in the extreme, and that the "Red Sea" of the Bible is a well-documented mistranslation of a Hebrew phrase meaning "Sea of Reeds" (I won't get started on the implausibility of the ark story). I don't mean to take away from the power of those stories; they provide majestic themes and trenchant insight into the human condition. In addition, their frameworks have been incorporated into our culture, and knowledge of those stories facilitates analysis of cultural idees fixes.

However, to accept them as literally true, when so much evidence argues against that position, seems to be a rather puzzling (and indeed frightening) way to approach the world.

Oh, well, since when did people let facts stand in the way of what they want to believe?