Recent Survey Provides Surprising Beliefs About Human Origins

Half of N.J. doesn't believe in evolution
BY SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP MAY 20, 2012 ASBURY PARK PRESS/COURIER NEWS
     You say we came from evolution? Well, you know, half the state doesn’t agree. Support for the idea that humans evolved from lower forms of life stands at 51 percent in New Jersey, according to a new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll. Forty-two percent said they didn’t believe in evolution, while 7 percent said they don’t know. Surprised? Penny Abramson was. “That shocks me,” said Abramson of Matawan, who figured Darwinians were a much larger majority in the state. “Wow.” The results of the statewide poll provide a window into what New Jersey believes and suggest that in some cases, we take our cues from the political figures we trust, rather than independently forming our own opinions. The poll offers plenty of discussion starters. For example:
• Most people in the state (64 percent) believe that there is life after death. “I probably thought it was much higher, but I am not shocked,” said Julia Rose-Dick, 47, of the Baptistown section of Kingwood. “I do think more people tend to believe there’s something better after this life. I’m not quite in agreement, but I’m hopeful.”
• About half of state residents (49 percent) believe there is life on other planets. Laura Kaiser, for one, thinks that’s a fairly safe bet. “The universe is so infinitely large, I find it hard to believe we’re the only ones,” said Kaiser, 38, of Ocean Township. But Charles Burke, 82, of the Basking Ridge section of Bernards, doesn’t believe in extraterrestrials and said he’s “not even inquisitive” on the subject. “I haven’t seen any factual reason for me to think differently,” he said.
• Speaking of heavenly bodies, 38 percent of New Jerseyans put stock in astrology. Not Raymond Hebert, though. “I’m a God-fearing man,” said Hebert, 53, of Asbury Park. “I’m not one of the 38 percent.” On the other hand, Hebert’s friend, Charles Azodoh, 32, of Eatontown said he regularly consults his horoscope. “You don’t believe in astrology?” he asked Hebert. “I’m a Virgo. With Virgos, we’re the type of people who analyze everything. “To each his own,” he said.
     It was the slim majority of New Jersey residents who said they believed in the theory of evolution, however, that most surprised Laura Kaiser and her brother, Michael A. Saperstein. “This part of the country, I would expect that to be much higher,” said Saperstein, 34, of Ewing. “I’m surprised more people don’t have more faith in science,” Kaiser said. “It’s surprising, and a bit alarming,” added Abby Hayden’s boyfriend, Corey Asraf, 23, of Asbury Park. Among the not-so-surprised was Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. Murray said 53 percent of New Jerseyans concurred with the theory of evolution 12 years ago when a similar question was asked in a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Murray noted that skepticism toward evolution was higher in some other states. In recent Republican primary polls in Alabama and Mississippi, for example, 60 and 66 percent of respondents, respectively, said they didn’t believe in evolution. “For the Northeast, it’s not so bad,” said Dr. Jack Cuozzo of Lebanon, a dentist who has given talks about creationism around the state for many years. Nationwide, four in 10 Americans said they believe God created humans in their present form about 10,000 years ago, according to a December 2010 Gallup Poll. Thirty-eight percent said they believe God guided a process by which humans developed over millions of years from less advanced life forms, while 16 percent said they hold to the view that humans developed over millions of years, without God’s involvement. In the Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll, support for evolution was higher among Democrats (55 percent) than Republicans (45 percent). The level of education was a factor as well, with 69 percent of college graduates saying they believed in evolution, compared with 37 percent of those with no college experience. The poll did not ask about respondents’ views toward alternative theories, such as creationism or the theory of intelligent design. Respondent Alycia Marshall, who indicated in the poll that she didn’t believe in the theory of evolution, said her own view on the subject is more nuanced than the yes, no, or don’t know answer options she was offered. “I actually have a combination view,” said Marshall, 28, of the Bayville section of Berkeley. “I’m one of those people who believe that at some point we were created. I don’t believe we evolved from monkeys per se. It’s more likely we evolved as human beings.”
Contributing: Staff writer Sergio Bicha