Kiwis more liberal than Americans

Kiwis are significantly more liberal than Americans on issues of religion and morality, but are still not convinced by the theory of evolution, new research shows.

The UMR Research study compared New Zealanders' attitudes with those of Americans using findings from a US Gallup Poll conducted this year.

Just 26 per cent of Kiwi respondents said the theory of evolution was definitely true.

Around the same percentage believed in the theory of creationism, with 24 per cent agreeing that "God created human beings in their present form exactly the way the Bible describes it".

More than 50 per cent of Americans agreed with the creationist statement and 28 per cent said the theory of evolution was definitely false.

Hazel Chapman, who teaches evolution at Canterbury University, said she was really surprised by the results.

"I guess it just reflects how much religion there is around and how much it colours people's views on evolution," she said.

"I think we need to be paying more attention to teaching evolution well in schools."

Catholic Bishop Barry Jones said many Christians understood that God was the creator of all that exists, but "that evolution is very likely to be the correct way to understand the development of life".

New Zealanders were significantly more tolerant than Americans about having a baby outside of marriage, sex between an unmarried man and woman, abortion, divorce and homosexual relations.

Americans were much keener on the death penalty, with 66 per cent saying it was morally acceptable compared to 42 per cent of New Zealanders.

Respondents from the two nationalities were most closely aligned on questions around the use of human stem cells for medical research which was seen as acceptable by 65 per cent of Kiwis and 64 per cent of Americans; cloning humans (9 per cent, 11 per cent), polygamy (10 per cent, 8 per cent) and married men or women having an affair (9 per cent, 6 per cent).

Most Americans thought gambling was acceptable, but less than half of Kiwi respondents agreed.

The two countries were also worlds apart in answers to questions about the existence of God, the devil, heaven and hell, with large numbers of Americans saying they firmly believed while New Zealanders were less sure.

- © Fairfax NZ News