Although Americans disagree about the age of the earth and the role of evolution in humanity’s development, three-quarters still say God was involved, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Just 20 percent of U.S. adults hold to the strictly secular view that humans evolved from lower life forms apart from God — a figure that has nevertheless doubled since 1982. A majority (57 percent) of the religiously unaffiliated agree with this stance, compared to 1 percent of weekly churchgoers, 6 percent of those attending services at least monthly, and 35 percent of sporadic attendees.

“Adam and Eve were acts of special creation and ... did not evolve from lower forms of life.” — James Bradford

Those with higher education levels are more likely to subscribe to evolutionary views. For instance, 24 percent of college graduates and 21 percent of those with postgraduate degrees say God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years, compared to 48 percent of respondents with no postsecondary education and 42 percent of those with some college coursework.

Among all Protestants, 50 percent say God created humanity in its present form, while 39 percent say humans evolved with God guiding the process. Six percent of Protestants and 11 percent of Catholics maintain humans evolved with no divine intervention.

James Bradford, general secretary of the Assemblies of God, says the secular view that humanity evolved from another species does not align with biblical doctrine.