Why does the term "Evolution" induce such heated controversy...?

Question

when obviously it is happening all around us everyday.

Answer 1

Namely, evolution induces controversy because so few people understand it. It is not taught correctly in most schools, if it is taught at all, thus leaving many people with false information and ideas. It is also a difficult concept to understand when you try to look at it over a great period of time, seeing as man has such difficulty understanding time.

Evolution is also said to contradict Genesis and the creation of life, when it has nothing to do with the creation of life at all, only the progression of it. Religion, especially the Abrahamic faiths (Christians, Jews, Muslims), seems to feel that evolution cannot coexist with their deity and feel threatened by the thought (even though things like the 'watchmaker' theory say otherwise.) Finally, Evolution gives some people a feeling that humans are not 'special,' and that insults them. So, instead of thinking that humans are even more unique due to the chance of evolution, they feel inferior and thus refuse to believe what is in front of them.

Yes, evolution is happening all around us, everyday. That doesn't mean that people are going to understand it any better, or be willing to accept what they have been told not to believe.

Answer 2

because evolution is the belief that we humans evolved from another species some hypothesize that it is monkeys this offends humans and also defies the basis for religion stating that god created adam and eve

Answer 3

Its simple.

It negates the existance of many religious beliefs.

Answer 4

Because religion makes people blind to reality.

Answer 5

Because it contradicts the stories of Genesis, where God made X, then Y, and so on and so forth until he comes to Adam, then Eve.

Evolution tells of a natural process spanning millions of years, which makes it so some genetic mutations are favoured, and are passed on.

It also says we are not special in the animal kingdom. We are but one more footstep on the evolutionary road. And religious people have a need to feel special, or at least, many do.

Answer 6

Evolution does not give humans a special place in the universe.  Rather, it provides evidence that humans are just one of the possible outcomes of physical processes that can be explained in purely physical terms.

For many people, it is important to believe that they have a special place in the universe (which consists of a hundred billion galaxies each with a hundred billion stars).

Answer 7

well actually by true definition there is no real controversy....evolution is a fact testable by science ..religion is not....irrespective of that though...many many people do not understand evolution ( or choose not to try ) in which case their argument against evolution is one as Richard Dawkins says of personal incredulity. Ignoring the enormous amounts of  data and models and assorted facts about evolution and believing something based on no data  and personal "feelings " is not science and thus cannot be explored as an alternative to evolution.