Steve, I sensed that you perceive religion as this threat to the advance of civilization because most of the people who reject evolution are, well, fanatically religious. So then, is it really the science you are concerned with here or is it the politics of the religious right that is correlated with non-belief in evolution? If it's the latter then I can see your point.

I believe in the separation of church and state and I think it is well supported by scripture. I do not believe that the religious right respects this separation. They obsess on "social issues," which they narrowly define as issues relating to sexual (and reproductive) morality in a very Victorian way, even though Christ had very little to say about such matters because they were simply not his priority. Love, charity, not judging others were his priority. The religious right shows very little evidence of following Christ's teachings in their political maneuverings. So happy to spend on "defense" while unconcerned with whether people go sick or hungry.

Instead, it is the political left who seem more inclined to hold values that reflect Christ's teachings. That is why I commented that it is ironic that so many conservatives still ascribe to Darwinistic policy while overtly rejecting science in favor of religion. You'd think they would reject Social Darwinism along with Evolution wouldn't you? It's rather disingenuous of them not to.