SOCIAL PROFILES OF ANTI-EVOLUTIONISM IN NORTH CAROLINA IN THE 1980s

During the creation-evolution controversies in North Carolina in the 1980s, both creationists and evolutionists described creationists somewhat simplistically, with the former publicly de-emphasizing their own religious connections and the latter usually underestimating creationists' educational backgrounds and scientific credentials. Social profiles of the creationist movement can be constructed with data from a state-wide poll and from anthropological fieldwork to see how religion, education, and other social features interacted within the creationist movement. It is necessary to recognize that there are two different levels of support for creationism, namely, general public opinion, and intensely committed activists. The creationist movement in North Carolina cannot be reduced to either component; instead, it must be understood in terms of relations between those two levels.