Tag: GDP

Belief in Evolution Vs National Wealth

Akshar Takle

From Calamities of Nature comes this bizarre graph relating national wealth (Gross Domestic Product) and belief in evolution, with each dot representing a country (Countries in same region have same color dots).

X-axis: GDP per capita

Y-axis: Share of people believing in the evolution theory

But this “enlightening”  graph  is probably enlightening us in a misleading way. The visualization lacks the story and hence its motive or goal.

What does the chart convey?  Does being rich make you believe in evolution theory?

The relationship needs to suggest that countries that are wealthier, and whose inhabitants are doing better, have less impetus to be religious and hence less rejection of evolution theory.  The missing links that could form a story would be: GDP per Capita -> Percentage of people who are educated -> Percentage of people adhering to scientific discoveries or evidences than religious beliefs -> Belief in Evolution.

We are not even talking about the elephant in the room – acceptance or condemnation of a person’s religion / dogmas to the evolution. There can be a sizable amount of people who are poor, not much educated and still believe in evolution because their religion / dogmas has nothing to say about that.

The graph does not show a robust picture. Most of the countries shown in graph represent the Abrahamic religions. What about the other countries? There are more than 100 countries with GDP less than 10000$.  It would be interesting to see how it applies to the rest of the world.

There are also some doubts about that data- in specific how it was collected ?  what was the sample like? what age groups?  Younger people would be more acceptable and open towards the evolution as compared to their previous generation.  Also in one of the studies conducted by Pew Research and NRK shows that 60% of Americans and 80% of Norwegians believe in evolution theory. That places USA (which is currently an outlier) between Sweden and Netherlands.  A poll conducted by global research company Ipsos for Reuters News finds that four in ten (41%) identify as “as ‘evolutionist’s’ and believe that human beings were in fact created over a long period of time of evolution growing into fully formed human beings they are today from lower species such as apes.”  Three in ten (28%) global citizens refer to themselves as “creationists and believe that human beings were in fact created by a spiritual force such as the God they believe in and do not believe that the origin of man came from evolving from other species such as apes”.  Almost one third (31%) of the global population indicate they “simply don’t know what to believe and sometimes agree or disagree with theories and ideas put forward by both creationists and evolutionists”.  This makes us seriously question the data itself.

While the correlation is really interesting and fun, it doesn’t really get to the point.  Many of us would love to take away that accepting evolution theory would make us rich.

References:

http://www.calamitiesofnature.com/archive/?c=559

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/30/publics-views-on-human-evolution/

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5217