Darwin's On the Origin of Species was published 150 years ago, but evolution by natural selection is still under attack from those wedded to a human-centred or theistic world view. Edward O. Wilson, who was raised a creationist, ponders why this should be, and whether science and religion can ever be reconciled It is surpassingly strange that half of Americans recently polled (2004) not only do not believe in evolution by natural selection but do not believe in evolution at all. Americans are certainly capable of belief, and with rock-like conviction if it originates in religious dogma. In evidence is the 60 per cent that accept the prophecies of the Bible's Book of Revelation as truth, and in yet more evidence is the weight that faith-based positions hold in political life. Most of the religious right opposes the teaching of evolution in public schools, either by an outright ban on the subject or, at the least, by insisting that it be treated as "only a theory" rather than a "fact".
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机译：达尔文（Darwin）的《物种起源》发表于150年前，但是自然选择的进化仍然受到那些以人为本或有神论的世界观所束缚。爱德华·威尔逊（Edward O. Wilson）是一位创造论者，他思考为什么应该这样做，以及科学与宗教之间是否可以调和。令人惊讶的是，最近接受调查的一半美国人（2004年）不仅不相信自然选择带来的进化，还相信完全不相信进化。美国人当然有信仰的能力，并且如果信仰起源于宗教教条，则具有坚如磐石的信念。有证据表明，有60％的人接受《圣经启示录》的预言作为真理，而有更多证据表明，基于信仰的立场在政治生活中占有举足轻重的地位。大多数宗教权利都反对公立学校中的进化论，要么完全禁止该主题，要么至少坚持将其视为“仅理论”而非“事实”。
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