Although I remain entirely sceptical about theism ever dying out or losing political power around the world there are some glimmers of hope.
Thirty two years ago, Professor Michael Archer of the University of New South Wales (Australia) began a simple questionaire for incoming university students that rated their belief in evolution or creationism.
www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-08-22/god-or-evolution:-what-australian...
The findings of this questionaire were published yesterday and they are at least somewhat reassuring.
Professor Archer was a prominent spokesperson for an acclaimed paleontological excavation in the early 1990s in the Riversleigh region of Queensland which produced a huge array of fossilised remains of ancient lifeforms in Australia including a complete seven metre fossil python (officially named "Montypythonoides") and one surprising carnivorous kangaroo.
Prof. Archer was also declared Skeptic of the Year, by the New South Wales Skeptics Association in 1998.
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The poll looks reassuring until you remember that these are biology students. One in four still believe in guided evolution, and nearly one in 25 are full-on creationists. I don't know scientists can swallow the creationism garbage. But then I've heard Richard Dawkins speak about a Harvard geology professor who's a young Earth creationist.
Doublethink?
Sorting out nature from supernatural has always been a problem for theists. Its been a contentious issue for all three Abrahamic religions and Greek philosophy as well. It near did in Al Gazahli who tried to fuse naturalistic and mystic Islam but was driven by the differences into the comforts of mysticism and took modt of Islam with him. Dumb Ox Aquinas struggled to mix Platonism with Aristotlism and came up with a cobbled hybrid that the Church embraced and on which Occam flourished his Razor.
Seems natural science just isnt enough for some. At least the trend of this survey over the past 30 years is in the right direction.