Reply #17: It goes deeper than only evolution. The core question is

[howard112211]

whether one believes in a causal nature that follows specific laws, or whether one believes in a "magical" reality where things just happen because god, ghosts, or some force that is beyond human understanding "wants" them to.

The later type of worldview has broad acceptance in the US, even among many who don't consider themselves Christian per se. I personally think it is a type of anti-intellectualism: It allows people who are unwilling to work hard to gain real knowledge to consider themselves on equal footing with those who chose to undertake the long and hard path to knowledge. If "everything goes" and "who knows", then what are the twenty years of busting ones ass that the scientist undertook worth?