I couldn't let the birthday of Charles Darwin go by without noting the status of belief in his finding that humans evolved (like all other animals). The chart below is from a survey done by the prestigious Pew Research Center back in August of 2014 -- but I doubt much has changed in the few months since the survey was done.
It turns out that currently a little more than 6 out of 10 Americans (61%) believe in the evolution of humans. About 22% say this evolution was guided by a god, while 32% say it was just through the scientific process of natural selection. Another 7% believe in the evolution of humans, but are unsure whether a god had anything to do with it or not.
Meanwhile, 31% believe humans have always existed in their present form and did not evolve (a sad comment on a nation that supposedly values education). About 8% say they don't know whether humans evolved or not.
Meanwhile, 98% of scientists (members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science) believe humans evolved like other animals. But 29% of the general public says scientists don't agree about evolution. It just goes to show that some people will believe what they want to believe, regardless of any available facts.
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