In this issue:
Most Americans believe God had a hand in human origins
New book dispels early hominid myths
Is religious belief behind human cooperation and conflict?
Most Americans believe God had a hand in human origins
Some 78% of Americans today believe that God had a hand in the development of humans in some way, which is just slightly less than the percentage who felt this way 30 years ago, according to the Gallup organization. All in all, experts say, there is no evidence of an increased belief in the secular viewpoint on human origins.
A newly released Gallup poll has found that 46% of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God’s guidance; while 15% say humans evolved, but God had no part in the process.
The headline numbers remain essentially unchanged from 30 years ago, according to the Gallup organization. In 1982, roughly 44% of Americans claimed a creationist viewpoint. Gallup has asked Americans 11 times since then to choose between a creationist view, theistic evolution and the belief that evolution occurred with no input from God.
The 32% who chose theistic evolution or the view that humans evolved under God’s guidance is slightly below the 30 year average of 37%. The survey also found those who attended church more regularly were more likely to choose creationism.
“Most Americans are not scientists, of course and cannot be expected to understand all of the latest evidence and competing viewpoints on the development of the human species,” say Gallup officials in their announcement of the survey results. “Still, it would be hard to dispute that most scientists who study humans agree that the species evolved over millions of years, and that relatively few scientists believe that humans began in their current form only 10,000 years ago without the benefit of evolution.”
New book dispels early hominid myths
Ian Tattersall, a paleoanthropologist and a curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, is also the author of a new book Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins (Palgrave Macmillan 2012).
On the board of advisors for the Templeton Foundation, Tattersall has carried out primatological and paleontological field work in countries such as Madagascar, Vietnam, Surinam, Yemen and Mauritius. In his latest book he dives into what physical traits and cognitive ability of homo sapiens distanced them from the rest of nature. According to publisher Palgrave Macmillan, Masters of the Planet looks at how our early ancestors acquired superior abilities and the book shows that homo sapiens unprecedented mental facility is not the result of natural selection, but an emergent capacity that was acquired quite recently and changed the world definitively.
In thinking about early humans, many of us have a set image of Neanderthals as a middle phase between early hominids and modern homo sapiens. According to Tattersall though: “Largely as a result of this accident of history, the Neanderthals have always loomed very large in considerations of our own evolution — although it has for long been evident that they were not direct human precursors as was suggested early on, and there is fairly general agreement by now that they deserve recognition as a distinctive hominid species in their own right." In an detailed chapter dedicated to Neanderthals, Tattersall walks the reader through the geography, lifestyle and DNA of this early hominid, which reveals no overlap with our modern genetic make-up – once again bringing home the fact that they were not a ‘lesser’ version of modern humans. At the end of the day, we have shown ourselves to be more reliant on cognitive abilities and the use of symbolism to a degree never seen before among other hominids.
Is religious belief behind human cooperation and conflict?
Religion over the last few millennia has enabled large-scale cooperation and sociopolitical conquest even without war, according to University of Michigan anthropologist Scott Atran, and Jeremy Ginges of the New School for Social Research, who authored a recent article in Science magazine.
The researchers also claim that religion may also increase conflict with other groups. They cite a number of studies among different populations. These include cross-cultural surveys and experiments in dozens of societies that show those who participate in collective religious rituals are more likely to cooperate with others. But the studies also point to groups that are most intensely involved in conflict have the costliest and most physically demanding rituals to galvanize group solidarity in common defence. These rituals also blind group members to exit strategies, according to Atran and Ginges.
The pair also offers some insights that could help to solve conflicts fueled by religious conviction. Casting these conflicts as sacred initially blocks negotiation tactics. They say making strong symbolic gestures, such as sincere apologies and demonstrations of respect for the other's values, generates surprising flexibility – even among militants and political leaders – and may enable subsequent material negotiations.
"In an age where religious and sacred causes are resurgent, there is urgent need for joint scientific effort to understand them," they concluded. "In-depth ethnography, combined with cognitive and behavioral experiments among diverse societies (including those lacking a world religion), can help identify and isolate the moral imperatives for decisions on war or peace."
Atran is also affiliated with Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique−Institut Jean Nicod in Paris and with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York.
Covalence, June 2012