<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19120"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px"
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"> <IMG
src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/rw/sites/twpweb/img/logos/twp_logo_300.gif">
</FONT>
<DIV id=content>
<H1 property="dc.title">Poll finds evangelicals stand apart on evolution,
climate change</H1>
<H3 property="dc.creator">By Lauren Markoe (Religion News Service), <SPAN
class="timestamp updated processed" epochtime="1316698070000"
datetitle="published" pagetype="leaf" contenttype="article">Published:
September 22</SPAN> </H3>
<P>WASHINGTON — White evangelicals and Tea Party members are less likely to
believe in evolution and climate change than most Americans, a finding that
could pose a particular problem for Republican presidential hopefuls.</P>
<P>A new poll released Thursday (Sept. 22) also showed that a majority of
Americans (57 percent) believes in evolution, and an even larger majority (69
percent) believes in climate change — though many still disagree that the
phenomenon is based on human activity.</P>
<P>But most Americans do not insist that their presidential candidates share
their views on these issues, nor do they believe scientists have come to a
consensus on them, according to the poll conducted by the Public Religion
Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service.</P>
<P>The views of white evangelicals and Tea Party members stand apart.</P>
<P>Even though these issues aren’t deal-breakers for most voters, they are
“symbolically important for two groups that play an outsize role in Republican
primary politics: white evangelical Protestants and members of the Tea Party,”
said Robert P. Jones, CEO of PRRI.</P>
<P>“Because evangelicals and Tea Party members hold views that are significantly
different than the general population, the challenge for Republican candidates
is to talk about these issues now in a way that will not hurt them later in the
general election,” Jones said.</P>
<P>On evolution, a third (32 percent) of white evangelicals affirm a belief in
evolution, compared to two-thirds of white mainline Protestants, six in 10
Catholics and three-quarters of the unaffiliated.</P>
<P>On climate change, though strong majorities in every religious group say they
believe the earth is getting warmer, white evangelicals (31 percent) are
significantly less likely to believe the change is caused by human activity.
That compares to 43 percent of white mainline Protestants, 50 percent of
Catholics and 52 percent of the unaffiliated.</P>
<P>The poll reveals an unusual political schism on climate change. Typically,
Republicans come down on one side of a question, Democrats on the other, and
independents in the middle, said Dan Cox, PRRI’s research director.</P>
<P>On climate change, Republicans (49 percent) cluster with Tea Party members
(41 percent) on whether there is solid evidence that the earth is warming. That
compares to 81 percent of Democrats and seven in 10 independents.</P>
<P>“There is no reason for climate change to be a partisan issue,” said Cox.
“But the political leadership on the issue has led to a polarization of opinion,
with Democrats and independents on one side and Republicans on the other.”</P>
<P>Many Americans say they do not care much about a candidate’s stance on either
evolution or climate change: more than half (53 percent) say a belief or
disbelief in evolution wouldn’t affect their vote, and about as many say the
same about a candidate who doesn’t believe climate change is caused by human
activity.</P>
<P>White evangelicals, however, care.</P>
<P>Only four in 10 evangelicals say a candidate’s views on evolution would make
no difference in their vote, and those who say they cared about a candidate’s
position say they would be less likely to vote for someone who believes in
evolution. By contrast, Americans overall who cared about evolution say they’d
be more likely to vote for a politician who believes in it.</P>
<P>Tea Party members (33 percent), more than any other group, are more likely to
support a candidate who does not believe in climate change. That compares to 16
percent of Republicans and 5 percent of Democrats.</P>
<P>Americans also doubt a strong consensus exists among scientists on climate
change, a phenomenon that has frustrated the vast majority of climatologists who
consider it a problem caused by human activity. Only four in 10 Americans
believe a consensus exists.</P>
<P>A slight majority (51 percent) says a consensus of scientists believes in
evolution, though evolution is overwhelmingly endorsed throughout the scientific
community.</P>
<P>In other findings:</P>
<P>— On stewardship of the earth, 57 percent say God wants humans to live
responsibly with animals and plants. A sizable minority (36 percent), however,
prefers the idea that “God gave human beings the right to use animals, plants
and all the resources of the planet for human benefit.”</P>
<P>— Black Protestants are evenly divided on evolution, with 47 percent
affirming it and 46 percent affirming creationism.</P>
<P>— Though most Americans believe in evolution, they disagree on its driving
force. Of those who believe in evolution, 30 percent say it’s driven by natural
selection or another natural process, compared to 22 percent who say a divine
being guides it.</P>
<P>The PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey was based on telephone interviews with
1,013 adults between Sept. 14 and 18. The poll has a margin of error of plus or
minus 3 percentage points.</FONT><FONT size=2
face=Verdana></FONT></P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>_____________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
href="mailto:wayne.a.fox@gmail.com">wayne.a.fox@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>