Darwinism is an integral part of the modern philosophy. A recent poll shows that 47% of Russians are familiar with this term, and 53% are not. Whether or not respondents were able to answer the question was primarily dependent on their level of education. Most college (university) graduates (85%) say they know the word “Darwinism,” and those who do not have a higher education are usually unfamiliar with the term (81%).

The poll results show that 69% know who Darwin is or at least say they do (95% of educated respondents). In response to the open-ended question “Who is Charles Darwin?” 22% mentioned biology, and some Russians say he was “a scientist, a horticulturist” (perhaps this shows confusion with Ivan Michurin, a Soviet plant-breeder). The same percentage (22%) have a general idea about Darwin’s work, i.e. the field of science, but were not specific: “a scientist, we’ve been taught something about him in school.” Few people named other branches of science (chemistry, physics, etc., 1%).

Many people believe that Darwin is the creator of the theory of human descent, “he made man out of monkey” (15%). A few people attempted to formulate Darwin’s scientific accomplishments with more detail (4%): “created the theory of evolution,” “natural selection,” etc.

One-third of Russians (33%) know Darwin lived in the 19th century (58% of educated respondents), 12% think he lived earlier or later, 24% were not able answer the question. This question was asked of respondents who claimed they were familiar with the name Darwin (69%).

From the layperson’s perspective, the conceptual core of Darwin’s theory “has to do with monkeys:” in response to a question about the essence of Darwin’s theory, 19% mention “the evolution of monkeys into man.” Another 8% associate Darwinism with “human descent,” and the same number of respondents speak of a broader idea of the theory: it is the study of “the evolution and development of the animal world.” For 3%, the key term in Darwinism is “natural selection,” while 1% only came up with vague or incorrect definitions (“something about plants”).

A question about whether Darwin’s theory is correct (asked of those familiar with the notion of Darwinism) elicited contradictory responses: 38% (or 18% of the sample) said it is correct, 30% (14% of the sample) said it is incorrect, and 34% (16% of the sample) were not able to answer the question. People with a higher education are much more often convinced of the validity of the theory (42%, or 36% of the sample).

Reponses to this open-ended question reveal that people disagree with Darwin’s theory based on two main arguments: religion (“man is God's child, not a product of evolution”) and scientific (“in the modern world, it is disputed and proved experimentally”), both with the same statistical weight (3%). Some (2%) simply refuse to accept the idea that humans are descended from apes, some argue that they have never seen a monkey turn into a human being (“why don’t apes turn into people nowadays?” – 2% of similar answers), and others believe that the human race comes from an extraterrestrial origin (1%), or prefer to trace man’s origin back to other animals, e.g. dolphins.

Approximately every one in two Russians (47%) believes that Darwin’s theory of human origin and faith in God are incompatible, 7% think that Darwinism does not contradict the religious worldview, while 46% have no opinion on this. Educated respondents tend to have a position more often than others (only 24% were unable to answer, 61% say they are incompatible, and 15% hold the opposite view).

Those who stated that science and religion cannot be combined usually pointed out that the different treatment of the very sources, reasons, and dynamics of human origin: “how can you compare God and an ape?” (22%). Some say Darwinism is opposed to religious faith and give preference to creationism (6%), while others favor scientific arguments (“I believe in science more than in God,” 2%), or simply state that “science and religion are different things” (2%). The arguments of those who believe that Darwinism and religion can “coexist peacefully” are few and statistically scarce: only 1% of the respondents state that “...evolution, too, stems from God.”

Respondents were asked: “Are the experiences and skills acquired in the course of an animal’s lifetime transferred further at a genetic level?” This is not an everyday question, yet only 16% said they didn’t understand it. Curiously enough, even among those unfamiliar with the word “Darwinism,” only every one in four respondents (24%) didn’t understand the question. It appears that the issue of genetic transmission of acquired characteristics is a part of the mass worldview, albeit as peripheral knowledge.

Regarding the specific statements of some respondents, it should be acknowledged that most did not have any correlation with “canonical” scientific ideas: 52% of Russians are convinced that individually acquired characteristics are transmitted genetically, and 16% hold the opposite view.

Irina Shmerlina

Do you know who Charles Darwin is?

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

Do you know in what century Charles Darwin lived? (Asked of those aware of Charles Darwin, 69% of the total sample.)

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

Charles Darwin was an English biologist in the 19th century who developed the theory of evolution. Are Charles Darwin's views compatible or incompatible with religious faith?

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

Are you familiar with the word "Darwinism"?

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

Some people regard Darwinism as a generally correct theory, while others think it is incorrect. Which of these two views comes closest to your own? (Asked of those familiar with the term "Darwinism," 47% of the total sample.)

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

In your view, do animals inherit skills and experience acquired by their ancestors?

	primary	seconary	vocational	higher

Do you know who Charles Darwin is?

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
yes	69	67	75	74	72	67	73	78	53	23	64	81	95	53	67	82	85	70	79	71	55	90
no	22	25	16	17	20	23	18	15	36	61	25	12	4	35	23	14	11	19	18	20	32	8
hard to answer	9	8	9	9	8	10	9	7	11	16	11	7	1	12	10	5	5	11	4	9	13	3

Do you know in what century Charles Darwin lived? (Asked of those aware of Charles Darwin, 69% of the total sample.)

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
correct answer (the 19th century)	33	32	33	40	38	29	35	39	22	9	25	39	58	23	31	43	56	45	34	32	21	56
wrong answer	12	13	13	10	11	13	11	14	12	3	12	14	17	11	13	16	15	10	13	14	10	14
hard to answer	24	21	30	24	23	25	26	25	19	11	26	28	20	19	24	23	13	15	32	26	24	20

Charles Darwin was an English biologist in the 19th century who developed the theory of evolution. Are Charles Darwin's views compatible or incompatible with religious faith?

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
compatible	7	8	6	6	8	6	8	9	4	2	6	7	15	6	5	10	10	8	7	7	6	12
incompatible	47	47	50	47	45	49	48	50	42	29	45	49	61	41	50	56	61	43	52	46	42	57
hard to answer	46	45	44	47	47	45	44	41	55	70	48	44	24	54	45	34	28	49	41	47	51	31

Are you familiar with the word "Darwinism"?

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
familiar	47	47	45</td>	51	49	46	51	53	34	11	38	51	85	34	40	61	59	53	54	48	36	74
not familiar	46	46	50	43	45	47	43	41	58	81	54	43	13	58	53	34	38	41	40	45	57	22
hard to answer	6	7	5	6	6	7	6	6	8	9	8	6	3	9	7	5	3	6	7	7	7	4

Some people regard Darwinism as a generally correct theory, while others think it is incorrect. Which of these two views comes closest to your own? (Asked of those familiar with the term "Darwinism," 47% of the total sample.)

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
first	18	19	17	14	18	17	20	19	12	4	13	17	36	10	12	26	21	16	22	16	17	35
second	14	13	14	16	14	13	15	16	10	3	11	15	23	11	12	18	22	15	19	12	9	18
hard to answer	16	16	14	21	17	15	17	18	12	3	13	18	26	12	16	17	17	22	12	19	10	21

In your view, do animals inherit skills and experience acquired by their ancestors?

Categories of respondents, %	100	65	24	8	46	54	37	36	27	14	36	32	19	21	28	26	8	12	17	38	25	21
yes	52	52	53	54	50	54	55	57	40	36	51	56	57	54	46	55	64	48	49	48	57	53
no	16	17	17	13	18	15	19	17	11	8	13	18	25	13	14	21	16	20	22	15	13	24
hard to answer	16	15	15	16	16	15	16	12	20	23	17	14	11	16	17	14	13	15	16	19	11	14
the question is unclear	16	16	16	15	16	16	10	14	28	34	18	12	6	18	23	10	7	17	12	18	18	8

POF database > Dominants. Opinion Field > Dominants 32 August 9, 2007 > Darwin and Darwinism > Darwin and Darwinism