Lord Martin Rees on evolution
"[I] think it would be a real cultural deprivation if everyone could not share the mystery and wonder of the cosmos that modern science reveals to us – the emergence, from simple beginnings, of stars and planets, and the intricate evolution on Earth of life and intelligence."
- Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society (UK)
Rees was commenting here about the rather bleak results of a British opinion poll on evolution commissioned recently by BBC Horizon, suggesting that fear and loathing of Darwin's theory is not confined to the States (see our related Datapoint and an article on BBCi).
In an official Royal Society statement, Rees also said: "It is surprising that many should still be sceptical of Darwinian evolution. Darwin proposed his theory nearly 150 years ago, and it is now supported by an immense weight of evidence. We are, however, fortunate compared to the US in that no major segment of UK religious or cultural life opposes the inclusion of evolution in the school science curriculum."