In one respect, science and religion have been largely
reconciled since the 19th century, when geologists such as
Charles Lyell recognised the evidence for a very old Earth.
Within a few decades, most mainstream religious denominations
accepted this view as well. But, much to the consternation of
scientists, young-Earth creationism, which holds Earth is only
about 6,000 years old, continues to be promoted in some
quarters, and remains very popular with the public, especially
in the United States. A 2010 Gallup poll found 40% of Americans
believe that “God created humans in their present form within
the last 10,000 years”. A 2009 poll found 39% agreed that “God
created the universe, the earth, the sun, moon, stars, plants,
animals and the first two people within the past 10,000 years".
(By contrast, and more representative of OECD countries, only
about half as many Canadians espouse such beliefs.) Such
notions, of course, differ vastly to the findings of modern
science, which pegs the age of the earth at 4.56