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A NEW SEANAD reform bill was introduced in the Seanad this week by Senators Katherine Zappone and Fergal Quinn. It is available here. The main point of the bill are that it should move to a reformed house with new powers, but without requiring constitutional change. It proposed elections by universal suffrage, to close the democratic deficit with non-geographic constituencies (on these see an interesting post by Michael Gallagher in here). The other reforms are to allow the Seanad conduct public inquiries, to monitor secondary legislation (Statutory Instruments), especially that which results from EU directives, to approve government appointment’s to state boards and the judiciary.
These are reasonable reforms that parliaments should engage in, but one wonders why give them to the Seanad, and not the Dáil? An argument might be that the Dáil should spend its time on primary legislation. But if it doesn’t, and it doesn’t really, this should probably be the first port-of-call for reformers.
But we might see here is a real separation of powers, where the Seanad has powers over certain areas, and the Dáil over others. This differs from the current, unequal, division of power between the two chambers. This would mean Ireland would not face the sort of gridlock that we see in countries with symmetrical bicameralism, such as Italy.
This aside, what about the Bill on offer? There are a number of problems with it that one might object to. None of these are fatal, and could be fixed with amendments, although the solutions could be administratively messy.
First, and most crucially, is the unequal weighting of votes across constituencies. It suggests that voters should assign themselves to the constituencies (either university seats or the panels, Agriculture, Labour, Culture, Industry and Administration). The universities have six seats in the Bill and the other panels between eight and 10 seats each.
What happens if one million people assign themselves to the labour panel, and just 50,000 to the arts? The voters in the arts panel would be over represented compared to the others. This would contravene a principle in the constitution that there should be broadly equal representation. The solution would be to allocate seats on the basis of the number of people who register to vote in a certain constituency. It’s possible, but it would be administratively expensive.
Second, there is a very strict gender requirement that half of the Seanad should be of either sex. This is to be achieved by sub-panels made up of men and women. It is proposed that there would be complete gender equality in each constituency (panel). This is rather rigid, and would be impossible to satisfy in the 9 seat constituencies they also propose.
Third, casual vacancies are to be filled by going to the next placed loser (of the right gender). This might seem odd to reward a person who failed to get elected because of the death or resignation of a person who beat them. This could disrupt the balance of the majority (although this is unlikely as the Taoiseach still retains 11 nominees – who are much more likely to be party hacks because s/he’ll have less control of the Seanad). It would be easier to allow substitutes as the European Parliament has.
Fourth, and rather radically, it suggests all passport holders should have a vote. Though we go on a bit about the diaspora we don’t tend to let them have any real say. But do we want to? Emigrants will have very different interests in the country than those who live here and pay tax and/ or use the state’s services. Might a constituency for the diaspora make more sense? But this would require constitutional change.
Fifth, There is a provision that every candidate should be approved by a ‘Judicial assessor’ – a former High Court judge who will decide whether the candidate truly is an expert or has a genuine interest in the subject of the panel the candidate wishes to stand for. This exists in Seanad elections already and while in reality this is not problematic, it seems oddly anti-democratic and elitist to allow someone ‘approve’ who is eligible to stand as a candidate.
While there are good, practical arguments for a bill that requires no constitutional change, it limits any real bicameral reform. So if we want a properly reformed second chamber why act within these limits. It will just give an imperfect outcome. Some of the problems are also as a result of it being based on the existing legislation. This may have made it easier to draft, but keeps imperfections that could easily be removed.
The arguments the anti-abolitionists are using about abolition are also flawed. Ireland will not descend into some Zimbabwe-like state with the absence of Seanad ‘checks’. Nordic countries manage with a single chamber, without this issue. The key is that in those countries the parliament is more independent of government than here.
I still find it hard to see why we should spend much time and effort on Seanad abolition or reform. There is an assumption by directly electing senators we’ll get a better calibre of senator. Oddly though, it is the appointed and university senators who have made most contribution to the Seanad, not the professional politicians. I suspect a cut in the salary of Senators to where we cover their basic expenses would lead to a more radical change in the composition of the Seanad than direct election, which could lead to making it more likely to be a mirror of the Dáil.
Eoin O’Malley (@AnMailleach) is a lecturer in Irish politics at School of Law and Government, DCU. To read more articles by Eoin forTheJournal.ie click here.
400,000 irish people think the sun shines out of garth brooks hole. we cant slag anyone lads
They think the universe revolves around the USA, God love them
And that God is American
and that God and Jesus spoke English it is the bible ya know….
In fairness to them , it has a lot to do with their tv/media . I spent a summer over there in ’97 and the only foreign news in 3 months was Diana’s death and Hong Kong changing hands . Largely I find the Americans an extremely welcoming and generous people .
Ha they also believe in God ! Mental stuff.
God and Jesus speak American, Snorre. What are you at!
and 100% of those who don’t know that the earth revolves around the sun…voted for Obama!
James, there are other ways to educate yourself apart from a television or media.
Like, say, a book.
A what?
If Jesus is israeli why has he got a spanish name?
I thought Jesus was Palestinian
Religiously Jesus was a Jew, if you want to find out what his race or ethnicity was you’re opening one of the biggest can of worms the world knows..
They are right…the sun revolves around a galactic center therefore the earth has a spiral trajectory around the sun. The earth does not “circle” the sun…… I am just saying.
One in four Irish wonders if the sun exists.
I was in Montana a few years ago. In a bar having a few beers with family.
Man at the bar asked us where we were from, we said we were from Ireland.
He asked us which state it was in.
True story.
Simular :) was dating a girl from Estonia and American asked me if that was a town in ireland.
Mind you pinch of salt required thry do tend to livr in a bubble but some of the best minds there to as well as dome of the laziest
I’m sure a lot of Irish would have similar knowledge gaps when it comes to counties in sub-Saharan Africa or Central Asia
The ‘geographic ignorance’ shibboleth does annoy me a bit. The US itself is vast, over a third of a billion people, with 50 states and all their capitals and physical features, not to mention its neighbouring countries. Most Americans tend to have a very good grasp on this huge spread of geography, better than most Irish people would have of the only 28 states of the EU. That they don’t know much about Ireland, an economically and militarily unimportant island that wouldn’t break into the top half of US states in terms of population and is barely the size of South Carolina, is hardly a cause for laughter.
There’s no excuse for that business with the Sun.
Well there is a town in the USA called Ireland .
There are 2 towns in the US called Ireland. One is in Indiana and the other is in Indiana. There’s also a Dublin in California, which has at times prompted me to say Dublin, Ireland when people ask me where I’m from.
Ireland is a but a flea on the earth’s arse no different than a paddy meeting someone from Laos and being unable to point it out on a map.
I call shenanigans on the alleged survey. I’d like to see more data on it, the sample pool and what criteria rendered data invalid.
Is that the Laos over beside Meath? Lovely this time of year!
I’ve lived in America for 14 years and often had that same conservation. My answer always was, an awful state.
Paul, did you tell him it was in a pretty bad state?!
Most Americans don’t have a passport and have never traveled outside the US. As noted above, it’s a vast country…6 hour flight from coast to coast…but that doesn’t excuse the failing educational standards. We spend more on education than any other country in the world, but the curriculum has been so polluted by political correctness and progressivism that we’ve come to this. The problems are particularly acute in the largest cities…where progressives have ruled the roost for decades or longer…
Paris, France or Paris Texas ? Moral of story is that a lot of European place names were used in naming places in the US. Plus it isnt really that surprising that in a huge country of over 300 million, that some people would not have the name of a tiny eunropean country at the top of their minds.
Could have been Ireland, Indiana. A small village just north of Jasper, Indiana : Had only 1 Bar called ‘The Chicken Place’ serving only .. You guessed it .. Chicken. Had beers with a couple of lads from Glasnevin there in 1997 !!
You’re right. I have no idea how the sun and planets behave in South Safaran Whatever-you-called-it.
In Maine I was told I spoke really good english for a europeeen..fact
I’m fairness some of them are so big they’d have their own gravitational pull.
The day we can laugh at America for obesity is gone! We re as bad or worse now:(
Comment of the week
Tom, we all have a gravitational pull, each and every one of us.
But not enough to exert influence over other celestial bodies.
While I concede that there are far more fatties in Ireland now than let’s say 20 years ago, we still have a long way to go to match our American cousins. If you doubt me take a trip to some of the southern states. Eye opener…..
Americans are so dumb.
Now let’s all remind ourselves how intelligent we are at electing morons like Ahern, Cowen, Lowry & co, rewarding corruption, creating an insane property bubble, blaming the Germans and drowning our sorrows with one of the worst alcohol problems in Europe.
We should also laugh at Americans for being so fat as we Irish are obviously the fittest nation on Earth.
Fair play Noel, at least one other person doesn’t just read something and blindly accept it!
Noel why oh why oh why did you have to bring this back to Irish politics.youre living in a bubble man think of something else.so annoying people bringing every article on this site back to Irish politics
Christ, imagine how dumb and drunk irishamericans are. Grow up people and stop all this stereotyping. America has its fair quota of highly intelligent people. I once even saw a sober Irishman.
@jamieKay – what’s a bubble man?
You
They know where the nearest KFC is and the quickest route to get to it.
And that’s all they need to know. MURICA!!!!!!
With 57 per cent if the irish adult population considered over weight of which 18per cent considered obese. Our figures are risibg year in year. In 5 years, we will have similar figures to america. Glass houses and stones! !
Wow you just suck the fun straight out of everything huh?
As Ron White said, “You can’t fix stupid”
Easy to get a misleading sample with 2,200 people in a population of 300 million! I could make the country look like geniuses with a well picked sample of that size!
Yes, but not with a randomly picked sample of that size.
Catholic Ireland isnt much better. A random selection would produce some interesting results too.
Catholic Ireland revolves around the Vatican
iBob is right, as long as that sample was random then the margin of error is only about 2%, even though the country is so big
Most Americans think the earth revolves around themselves.
And one wonders how George w bush was elected president of “the free world”??
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
- Bush 2004
There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” Good man George
“With hindsight, we all have 50/50 vision.”
“I could certainly drink a fair few points of Bass and be capable of driving home.”
Bertie Ahern
‘Sitting on the sidelines, cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide because frankly the only thing that motivates me is being able to actively change something’.
-Bertie Ahern
“The French don’t have a word for entrapanure”.
George Dubya.
@ Dave Fingelton: Perhaps this lack of knowledge led them into the great error of bombing the shit out of Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia where the so called perpetrators and funders of 9/11 originated ? After all both countries are in that “Region”
Padraic, give over!
Declan he can’t. He is a one trick pony.
@ Declan : 10 years later 1.6 million people killed or displaced. Oh sorry, wrong country. Must look at the map again.
“I know that man and fish can coexist peacefully”
“I bent my wookie” – Ralph Wiggum
Padraic, what has this article got to do with what you say?
Shocking as the statistics are, do you think maybe the fact that the people carrying it out depend on the results to be bad to get better funding may have affected how it was conducted?
And since when is 6.5 out of 9 “barely a pass”?
Well it depends on what you set the pass rate to be – just because we use 40% for the LC doesn’t mean anything
The Church still doing it’s best to keep us in the dark ages. Doesn’t help that some states prevent the education of evolution and allow the teaching of creationism, one of which has overwhelming evidence gathered for over a hundred years and the other of which is completely fabricated.
The teaching of creationism is a problem but every state in America must teach evolution by law.
And the Catholic Church teaches evolution and it has a very advanced astronomy unit and observatory.
Guy Consolmagno is a Vatican priest who has also written several amazing astronomy books. Creationism is not a Roman Catholic idea.
Still trying to live down Copernicus and Galileo.
Religion is supperstitition. Superstitions vary.
As for Roman Catholic dogma on various areas of the life sciences, it is still fundamentalist.
Supperstition sounds delicious..
The creationist rabble in America maintain catholics are not christian because they accept evolution as the big fat fact it is, it should also be noted that these idiots who insist on pushing their 6000 year old earth created by magic in 7 days into education are also climate change deniers…they are dangerous people propagating ignorance with their pseudoscientific nonsense.
Cake and eating it,comes to mind.
Evolution is not actually a fact it is still maintained as a theory, albeit a very plausible one with a lot of very supportive evidence. But it is still a theory like the origins of the universe. Personally I’ll wait for fact before making my decision, which I do more expect to come from the sciencey side tbh, they seem to be putting more work into it.. Until then I’ll sit on this lovely fence watching the people on either side go by.
Ahh Johnny, it’s an indisputable fact.
You might want to look into the scientific definition of theory… Gravity is also “just a theory”, but don’t see anyone going on about it!
Johnny respects a good work ethic over the evidence. Let’s hope the creationists don’t start putting in more hours
Absolutely I agree. Gravity is still a theory as it’s origins are still unknown, same as evolution or the origin of the universe. Before you scoff at what I just said please realise I am just stating the real facts that the science explanation is still an unproven theory, just like creationism idea is probably just bollox.
Stephen. It is not a fact. Even high level advocates of it like Dawkins would not consider it fact. He does consider it the only plausible explanation however based on the evidence. Creationism is fact for those who accept the bible as fact. Science is about finding the truth and should not be accepted so blindly either
Gravity is also a theory. But if a rock was falling from the sky I think I’d move out of the way
Ahhh Johnny, you’re coming across like one of them bible thumping creationists who pathetically try to use their misrepresentation of the sciences of geology, cosmology and evolutionary studies to debunk actual geology, cosmology and evolution.
It’s both hilarious and frustrating.
Their pseudoscience teachings suggest offering literal reading of genesis as an alternative to actual science with the battle cry of…”it’s only a theory”… maintaining wilful ignorance to the difference between scientific theory and laymans definition. .ie – a hunch.
Hi dermot. I’m not sure of your background so i wont make assumptions but I have a background in physics, have also studied geology at 3rd level and I do not conform to any religious belief. so I definitely am not a creationist nor am i misrepresenting the sciences.
What you are doing by accepting scientific theory as fact IMO is no better than the creationists blind acceptance of the scripture. Can I ask are you a scientist or do you consider yourself an atheist or both?
Johnny you clearly don’t understand the word theory in a scientific context.
Can you explain it then please James to be sure we’re on the same page?
To be fair you cannot know for sure that during the 7 days it took to create the world that God didn’t bury some fossils and make it look like the earth has been here for a lot longer.
Nor can you know that God didn’t accelerate time so that each day was the equivalent of a billion years.
We still have no idea how consciousness works, absolutely none. So let’s not be too sure of the creationists being wrong.
No matter is solid, it is comprised of subatomic particles that are 99.99999% empty. The world you perceive is simply what your senses interpret. Distance may be an illusion.
In fact Darwin came under most criticism from his Church of England clerics !!
Johnny I can see that you are promoting the idea that science is based on falsification and scepticism. I think what other commenters may be concerned by is that you imply that Young Earth Creationism and the Theory of Evolution are almost on a par. Perhaps your not saying that but your earlier comments have implied that
Johhny…you’re back in the creationist zone again with the questioning of my credentials, you do not need a phd in science to understand science no more than you need to be an author to appreciate a good book, I’m not a scientist but I am scientifically literate as it’s a passion of mine especially cosmology.
My rebuttal was to your “it’s only a theory” comment, it’s a seriously fallacious statement and a recurring retort from those who see science as an enemy of their faith and use this as way to push the supernatural creation myth.
I am an atheist but I don’t see why this is relevant, it’s true that the creation myth is based on religious grounds but my argument against it is not down to any anti theistic agenda I have, it’s more to do with influential people in America and elsewhere attempting to poison minds against real science, sowing seeds of doubt into our future scientists by saying evolution is merely a theory.. (laymans term)…abiogenesis studies is false and the formation of the entire universe was whispered into existence 6000 years ago.
Exactly. Kudos to you for the succinct comment. I wanted to simply put the guy down for his smug, willing ignorance. But you ( and Jenny below) were much kinder than I was willing to be. The problem with sitting on fences is the aquisition of splinters. Deservedly so, in the above case.
Great you are back again.
Dermot why do you continue to put me in the creationist camp? In my first comment I was merely correcting your use of the word fact over theory (to be honest this was me being a little pedantic more that anything else – like those grammar police I despise on here sometimes!). The rest of that comment as you have, I hope, read is by no means in favour of creationism, it is in favour of scientific theory as an explanation to our “existence” (can’t think of a more suitable/subtle way of putting it but I’m sure you know what I mean). Also next comment I close by suggesting creationism “is probably just bollox” so it bemused me why you were judging me as such and also that I was misrepresenting science. This is the reason I offered a little of my background as a science graduate and non-religious (hence not in favour of creationist idea). Your comments seemed a little misguided which is why I asked for a little of your background to see what angle you were coming from. Never was I questioning your credentials however knowing you are an atheist was actually relevant to me as it supported my initial judgement of you based on your reactions. I have issue with atheism as IMO it uses science “fact” for its own agenda to debunk other views, but failing to see that the beauty of science is the often lack of pure fact giving reason for exploration. If we are to represent science then it should be for what it is and not as as part of any other agenda.
For those using the definition of theory argument let’s be clear I have only one definition of this. For me a theory is something that is generally accepted as correct by an individual or a group but is as yet not fully proven to be classed as fact. Doesn’t matter if it is science or otherwise. Creationism can also be classed as theory but thankfully supporters of the idea claim its fact which I like as it takes some of the rationality out of their argument. But atheists are often guilty of making similar mistakes with “scientific fact”. Like I said it’s not that simple which is what makes science interesting and so open to possibility. It’s about discovery, not proving someone else is wrong.
Yes it’s just like the theory of gravity. Let’s wait for the proof of that also!
Finally before I run out of steam… Martin! I’m not sure if I should bother responding to you but I will. I admit to sitting on the fence as IMO it is the best place to see all sides of the issues equally. I consider it being open minded. All scientific discovery is made by people who question beliefs and facts. If you align yourself to any one side based on belief rather than before the facts are in front of you you risk loosing sight of the truth. If you think that’s such a bad thing then fine. It’s better than involving yourself in a debate where conflicting opinions are interesting and valid but making no contribution to that debate whatsoever.
OK One more and I hope people read these comments they took me so long to write on this bloody iPhone!
Last one for Micheal, Jenny and Paul. I avoided this gravity argument for a while but 3 warrants a reply I guess. To be clear in case you are not aware gravity is actually one of the most misunderstood forces in nature. For physicists it is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the resolution of most other theories from cosmology to quantum physics and ultimately to the “grand unified theory” which is the holy grail for most theoretical physicists.
Yes it exists. We know that for a fact but that’s about all we know other than a nice equation from Newton that shows how celestial bodies respond to it. This existence is not enough for me to accept however I need explanation and I need fact. The mere existence of mankind is enough proof for the creationist theory supporters. This kind of simplistic approach I cannot understand and I do not think we should treat science so. That said we should also not be too quick to debunk the beliefs over others without these facts.
Johhny…I never suggested you were a creationist, I pointed out that you use the exact same arguments put forward by them.
I’m an atheist and of course that tends to lend cynicism to claims of theistic interposition regarding the universe, origins and evolution but if people chose to believe that then fine…keep it personal, I’ll maintain that creationism – regardless if it’s from the followers of the abrahamic desert sagas or believers in cosmic egg creation or life emerging from a celestial jug of sour milk is detrimental to the future for every facet of science.
Why would children bother learning science if they’re being told that everything that exists was magically created, that every mountain, every tree, every nerve ending and neutron in organic life was ordered into existence 6000 years ago.
I know plenty of religious people who think as I do, they understand how nonsensical and harmful such teachings are.
You’ve defended your point of view well Johnny. I’m afraid most Journal commenters prefer to hit with a comment, get some green thumbs and leave rather than have a nuanced debate.
I suppose you are equally “on the fence” concerning the Germ Theory of Illness versus the Demon Theory of Illness.
There’s one problem with being on the fence in these kinds of disagreements, it’s that you get hit by both sides.
Good at least a few saw the last few painstaking comments. Dermot we agree really just a little hung up on the little things I think we are both guilty of. I wasn’t really expecting it to turn into a debate but I’m glad it did. Need to learn to watch my wording however as I got some fall back from the sit on fence comment. Those who read my other comments I’m sure realise I’m not holding my breath for proof of creation on one side but merely reserving judgement on the scientific explanation until the facts speak for themselves. Until then I’ll enjoy the journey. I agree also we need to take care what we force children to believe and that religious teaching should not take over from science however religion is a huge part of the world we live in and it’s a good thing to learn about the beliefs of others and what makes people tick. I was brought up under the catholic ethos but I found it wasn’t for me. I don’t think that upbringing affected me in any negative way tho. And a little bit of magic is no harm anyway, it’s good for the imagination…
Kevin you are correct the journal comments is not a great place for debate like this but I like the fact that you can find a good diversity of view points on here. it was interesting anyway to hear some points of view on this topic as I find it fascinating and I’m glad a few of you checked back in. I hope we can do it again sometime, and maybe next time we might even have a few creationists in the mix to really get the fires burning!
Thinks have changed since I was at school.
In my day, we were taught that the earth orbited the sun in an elliptical orbit.
I had not realised that planetary science had discovery that the earth actually circles the sun! Could someone please reference the new science on this? Amazing!
ah here, its all the same, you get the idea
An eclipse by its nature has a longer external path than a purely circular circumference and thus takes a longer time to go around , not circle around . And due to its orbit the sun exerts gravitational pull on the earth slowing the orbit on the closer paths to the sun and thus the speed of rotation is different as well . Plus there we are a blue speck in a vacuum probable in among the smaller worlds out there beside a massive gas ball of heat which could spit out heat and we’d be gone in a instant and then after all that we have humans beating the crap out of each other on this little rock we call,earth can’t we simply ………just get along
Touche !!!
Most Irish people don’t know they live in the British Isles
Obsolete outdated geographical term
Buy yourself an atlas
Have one thanks and its not mentioned. The Irish government do not recognise the term as well as the Irish people. I think its fair that a country can decide what its part of and what its not.
The Irish government don’t recognise it are you sure about that
Good man, nice research, now will Kevin O’Kelly provide me with a new atlas.
Try a Folens
Since the vast majority of people do not work in the mapmaking industry, they don’t need to know inane facts like that. It’s a waste of brain capacity.
Yet Ireland copies them at every opportunity – especially today’s youth.
With the terminology they use and the
up talk ..
Im sitting here thinking americans are idiots. Typing it in on my i phone. Netflix paused on my dell laptop wondering how they can pull bin laden out of a cave all the while listening to angela merkel whisper to her friends the cheek of these americans to castigate the world for enriching uranium while they have 5000 nuclear bombs. Pure fools they must be
What?
What what?
most cant point out their own state on a map.. i was asked while in new york yers ago did ireland have an education system!! so annoying that they think were backward when realy its them
Your spelling, grammar, and punctuation make this a contender for ironic comment of the year.
Give him a break break ,might be thislexick.
know what you mean……i was asked once if we had pencil sharpeners, seriously!
Ko !
You don’t need a comma before the word “and”.
There seems to be a big grey area( not grey matter) between the well educated Science folk(IT and engineering), and the rest right across America. Americans that work in tech are really on it, like their lives depended in it. Plus they work longer hours and take fewer holidays. It may be a stereotype that Americans are stupid, but that’s a broad generalisation.
And probably two in four russians think that the earth is flat !
Small wonder atheism is a dirty word in the US when such ignorance is rife.
Hey Brandeen!! I cut my paw on the screen door again..!!!!
Why you cotton picking……..
We are lucky that our education system is not as politicised as that in the USA or as politically correct as that in the UK. You have interest groups with various agendas tugging at schools for their own ends and not for the good of the children.
Yeah, our state-funded, church-controlled education system is an inspiration to others. I bet those yanks didn’t even learn hymns in school.
2200 is hardly a representative number for the US with a population of 300 million.
Thats like asking 2 people in Dublin and then saying 1 in 4 Irish.
hay, three quaters of Irish people think jesus was a god, ‘mericans arent the only people deficient in some basic facts
I’d like to see the result if this survey was conducted in China, and the Americans wonder why they’re falling behind the rest of the world
And we irish think the world revolves around us.
Oh great let’s laugh at America for being stupid and not really read the article so well… But for those who do you will see the results are actually not so bad. It’s an average of just under 75%. I think you would find similar results here if you did something similar .
Is there any way to find the list of questions from the survey?
The Headline itself is very misleading. If you carried out the same survey in say Harvard you would most likely get 99% correct answers. Would you say that only 1% of all Americans are ignorant of of science? Alternatively You could conduct the survey in say the South Side of Chicago and it could turn out 99% wrong.
So as I have said to claim that 2200 people would be an accurate measure of the American peoples knowledge of of Science is frankly absurd.
Only 28% of Americans believe in Evolution.The evangelical conservative right wing extremists are waging a war against science in the USA.
What do you expect when nonsense is taught instead of scientific evidence?
A scary percentage of Americans believe the Earth is 6000years old.
A very high percentage believe in the Bible literally and if a major catastrophe happened in say NYC like a nuclear bomb or a natural disaster of extreme devastation.A large number of Americans would see it as a sign of judgement day and rejoice and celebrate due to indoctrinated faith.Now that is scary beyond comprehension.
Where does it mention RC? there are strong advocates of ID and creationism in the US school system, which is not a great start.
Americans are idiots
You’ve got to hand it to Americans. They tend to excel in whatever their chosen path is. Be that rags or riches, fit or fat, smart or dumb. They don’t tend to do middle ground very well.
That’s got to be bollox, what are they thought in school? 1 in 5 maybe.
The same dodgy English you were ‘taught’?!
Just love winding up grammer nazis
They love what science gives them, but not the questions science asks. They are the ultimate hypocrites
2,200 asked out of 320 million…..yeah that’s a representative sampling size.
“Fewer than half (48 percent) knew that human beings evolved from earlier species of animals.”
Misleadingly phrased. I’m prepared to bet they were all familiar with the notion of evolution, but subscribed to an alternate theory.
We Irish like to think we are more important than we actually are. Yeah that 1 in 4 stat about the sun is a bit funny but calling Americans thick is a bit rich. They ain’t half done bad for modern inventions, technology, medicine and putting a man on the moon for a thick nation.
America was a smart dynamic nation before it got bit by religious fanaticism then it went downhill from there.
Only about 10% of Americans have passports. You can infer from that that 90% do not know that other countries exist – apart from the constant references on FOX news to Iran, Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan and their old nemesis, Russia.
I would like to see a similar survey done here.
Bullshit.
This is disappointing. The same study showed equally poor results from the E.U., China and Russia. If you were unaware of that, you’d be left with impression that Europe faired notably better. If you think 5% is a material difference, you’re wrong. This article is Racist by virtue of excluded context. Shame on the authors.
I hate America the land of the free. Yea we are definitely not free in europe or Australia or probably 80% of countries worldwide. They actually believe they are the freeest country in the world if that makes sense. Guantanamo. There knowledge of anything outside if their borders is scarily bad. Fox news headlines instead of mentioning the probably dozen troops killed today in the middle east let’s run kim kardashian pregnancy instead. I dispise them and there big Mac culture
don’t worry about the americans,,, sure enda Kenny believes the earth revolves around him, while labour think Irish people are stupid and revolve around a spiff of hash
There’s more to life than accumulating facts and knowledge.
One in three Americans believe the Earth revolves around America
No word for victory neither,apparently.
A more appropriate study would be to find out how many Americans would know how to find out what way the Earth moves in relation to the sun, if they ever have a need to find out.
I know a lot of brits that think Ireland is in a different time zone to the UK. True story ….
One in four Americans don’t know much about anything.
70% of Americans believe that the devil can literally possess people and in Indianapolis so did police officers from two departments, staff from child services and even a doctor! Now that is scary. http://atheistworldview.com/2014/02/04/the-exorcisms-of-latoya-ammons-demonic-possession-or-mass-hysteria/comment-page-1/
Sadly , I’m not surprised , considering that in the US , museums depicting mankind’s beginnings on this planet , according to the ‘word of God’ I.e the earth is about 7000 years old . The theory of evolution is nonsense at best and possibly even blasphemous etc etc .. are regularly visited by school children who are led to believe that what they are being told is absolute fact ! I mean ‘the Earth is the centre of the universe’ come on people .. everyone knows that !!! Jeez !
Most Americans that I have met are loud abnoucous uneducated fat know it alls.
Funny how they’re drawn to you, isn’t it?
Can t understand why you are having such a problem believing in Geocentricity.
Signed On behalf of the members of the Irish Flat Earth Society
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