Level of Support For Evolution

The level of support for evolution among scientists, the public and other groups is a topic that frequently arises in the creation-evolution controversy and touches on educational, religious, philosophical, scientific and political issues. The subject is primarily contentious in the United States. However, it is also important in other countries where creationists advocate the teaching of creationism as an alternative to evolution, or portray the modern evolutionary synthesis as an inadequate scientific paradigm.

While an overwhelming majority of the scientific community accepts evolution as the dominant scientific theory of biological diversity, creationists have asserted that there is a significant scientific controversy and disagreement over the validity of evolution.

The Discovery Institute, a pro–intelligent design lobby group located in the United States, also claims that because there is a significant lack of public support for evolution, that public schools should, as their campaign states, "Teach the Controversy". Nearly every scientific society, representing hundreds of thousands of scientists, has issued official statements disputing this claim and a petition supporting the teaching of evolutionary biology was endorsed by 72 US Nobel Prize winners. Additionally, US courts have ruled in favor of teaching evolution in science classrooms, and against teaching creationism, in numerous cases such as Edwards v. Aguillard, Hendren v. Campbell, McLean v. Arkansas and Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.

There is widespread belief in creationism in United States, the Muslim world, South Africa, India, South Korea and Brazil, with smaller followings in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. The most prominent organization behind this movement has been the Discovery Institute, the driving force behind the intelligent design movement. Through its Center for Science and Culture, the Institute conducts a number of related public relations and lobbying campaigns aimed at influencing the public and policy makers in order to advance its position in academia, which it claims is dogmatic and hidebound.

Many claims in the creation-evolution controversy rest on whether or not evolution is genuinely disputed by those in scientific circles, the public's acceptance of the theory of evolution and religious and educational organizations and both sides of the dispute exhibit interest in evaluating the level of popular and scientific support for evolution. Several publications discuss the subject, including a document produced by the United States National Academy of Sciences.