Poll finds support for teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools

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 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 (28 percent) or local school boards (21 percent).

Those figures roughly mirror the number of Americans who believe that life has always existed as we know it today (42 percent) versus those who believe life has evolved over time (48 percent).