How many people are you talking to that actually believes that creationism should be taught in the classroom? I don't know many Christian's who believe that....
Gilly, you and I may not know many Christians who believe creationism should be taught in the classroom, but there are legions and legions of Christians who do believe it. I am Christian and I am certainly not one of them. However, many school districts have fought over this, and in fact a major Supreme Court decision regarding the teaching of creationism in classrooms in a small Pennsylvania town considered and rejected that proposition sometime in the last year. This is a pitched battle in some parts of the country, perhaps not in New York City or more enlightened enclaves in the Upper Midwest or on the west coast.
Further, support for the teaching of creationism in public schools (even the removal of evolution in favor of creationism only in classrooms) has broad support in recent polls. This from Wikipedia (and I don't wanna hear any cracks from any of you wisenheimers about how lazy I am, going straight to Wikipedia):
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In 2000, a poll by People For the American Way[71] estimated that:
20% of Americans believe public schools should teach evolution only;
17% of Americans believe that only evolution should be taught in science classes—religious explanations should be taught in another class;
29% of Americans believe that Creationism should be discussed in science class as a 'belief,' not a scientific theory;
13% of Americans believe that Creationism and evolution should be taught as 'scientific theories' in science class;
16% of Americans believe that only Creationism should be taught;
According to a study published in Science, between 1985 and 2005 the number of adult Americans who accept evolution declined from 45% to 40%, the number of adults who reject evolution declined from 48% to 39% and the number of people who were unsure increased from 7% to 21%. Besides the United States the study also compared data from 32 European countries, Turkey, and Japan. The only country where acceptance of evolution was lower than in the United States was Turkey (25%).[74] (See the chart)
Less-direct anecdotal evidence of the popularity of creationism is reflected in the response of IMAX theaters to the availability of Volcanoes of the Deep Sea, an IMAX film which makes a connection between human DNA and microbes inside undersea volcanoes. The film's distributor reported that the only U.S. states with theaters which chose not to show the film were Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina:
"We've got to pick a film that's going to sell in our area. If it's not going to sell, we're not going to take it," said the director of an IMAX theater in Charleston that is not showing the movie. "Many people here believe in creationism, not evolution."
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I don't mean to come off as preachy in any way, just to show some stats that indicate how widespread this phenomenon is. I was amazed, since I don't exactly talk about this issue around the water cooler at work or rub elbows, as far as I know, with many of creationism's proponents on a regular basis.
