The most familiar religious story in America about how the world and mankind came to be is the Creation story and its immediate sequels in Genesis chapters 1-11. Yet few Americans realize that that story has a sound scientific basis.

The Gallup News Service tracked Americans’ positions on origins from 1982 to 2005. Typically Gallup would run its poll on this issue by asking this question:

Which of the following statements comes closest to your views on the origin and development of human beings? [ROTATE 1-3/3-1:]

1. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process.
2. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process.
3. God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.