A new survey result on the origin of the universe

A new poll commissioned by Daily Kos included a question on the origin of the universe. Asked "[m]ost astronomers believe the universe formed about 13.7 billion years ago in a massive event called the Big Bang. Do you think that's about right or do [you] think the universe was created much more recently," 62% of respondents in the United States indicated their acceptance of the 13.7-billion-year figure, while 25% indicated that the universe was created much more recently, and 13% were not sure.

Women were more likely than men to accept the 13.7-billion-year figure (64% versus 60%), Democrats more likely than independents, and independents more likely than Republicans (71%, 66%, and 44%, respectively), blacks and Latinos more likely than whites (75%, 73%, and 58%, respectively), and people in the northeast, west, and midwest more likely than people in the south (72%, 69%, 64%, and 48%, respectively). Younger respondents were more likely to accept it than older respondents.

According to the methodology section of the report, "[t]he Daily Kos weekly National Poll was conducted by Research 2000 May 24 through May 27, 2010. A total of 1200 registered voters nationally were interviewed by telephone. A cross-section of calls was made into each state in the country in order to reflect the registered voting population nationally. The margin for error, according to standards customarily used by statisticians, is no more than plus or minus 2.8% percentage points."