Creationism Isn't as Common as You Think

Abstract

Drawing on the Pew Religious Landscape Survey of ~37,000 respondents, Burge argues that pure creationism is a minority position in the U.S. Intelligent design — evolution guided by God — is the dominant view across most traditions. Even among evangelicals and Orthodox Christians, strict creationism is held by only about a quarter.

Findings for Latter-day Saints

• Only 17% of Americans hold a purely creationist view of human origins.
• ~48% endorse intelligent design (evolution guided by God or a higher power).
• Among evangelicals just 26% hold creationist views; 23% among Orthodox Christians.
• Predicted creationism rate: 29% for women vs. 21% for men.
• Creationist belief declines across cohorts: 27% (pre-1950 births) → 21% (1980+ births).

Limitations in methodology

Substack blog analysis of Pew RLS data; question wording shapes the share categorized as "creationist"; no LDS-specific breakout in the cited highlights.

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Cite this study

Burge, R. (2026). Creationism Isn't as Common as You Think. Graphs About Religion (Substack). https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/creationism-isnt-as-common-as-you

Ryan Burge. "Creationism Isn't as Common as You Think." Graphs About Religion (Substack), 2026. https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/creationism-isnt-as-common-as-you.

@article{burge_2026_creationism_isnt_as_common,
  title = {Creationism Isn't as Common as You Think},
  author = {Ryan Burge},
  year = {2026},
  journal = {Graphs About Religion (Substack)},
  url = {https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/creationism-isnt-as-common-as-you},
}