'Darwin Day' Celebrated in Rural US, Quietly

Only 16% believe humanity evolved without God

(NEWSER) - Creationists beliefs are on the wane but a full 40% of Americans still believe that God created humans in their current form 10,000 years ago, according to the latest Gallup poll. But the proportion of people with creationists beliefs was the lowest since Gallup started asking the question in 1982. The poll also found that some 38% believe that God guided the evolution of humans over millions of years "from less advanced life forms," while 16% believe that humanity evolved without divine intervention. More»

Child actor-turned-creationist gets schooled by UCLA students

(NEWSER) - Kirk Cameron embarked on his Darwin-is-like-Hitler tour, visiting UCLA last week to pass out copies of a "revised" edition of On the Origin of the Species that tries to compare the two historical figures—and video has surfaced of the former Growing Pains actor getting taken down by a group of students. Watch the YouTube video. More»

Brits 'can't imagine religion in America': Jeremy Thomas

(NEWSER) - The producer of a new film about Charles Darwin says he hasn't landed a US distribution deal because Americans can't stand the theory of evolution, the Daily Mail reports. Creation, the story of Darwin's struggle between reason and faith as he wrote The Origin of Species, has opened the Toronto Film Festival and sold to several other countries. "It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America," says Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas. More»

(NEWSER) - Global warming is changing the face of the planet, and a key panel estimates that a quarter of the world's species will die out—but a few organisms are already evolving to survive in a hotter world. In the past few years Scottish sheep have become smaller, while species of birds and plants are moving to cooler climes up mountains and away from the tropics. Carl Zimmer, writing for Yale's green blog Environment 360, details how evolution can move far more swiftly than Darwin had foreseen. More»

Church officials now say evolution theory fits with beliefs

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is clarifying that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with its doctrine after all, the Times of London reports. The Church never officially condemned Darwin, but his views have been controversial with some because they present a radically different image of the origins of species than what's presented in Genesis. "What we mean by evolution is the world as created by God," said a Church official, apparently leaving wiggle room for Darwin's theories. More»