Hint: it's not about evolution, or cosmology.  It's about respect for the scientific process.<p>Cultures that have respect for the scientific process thrive.
Cultures that don't, don't.<p>It's that simple.  (The US is actually a rather startling exception, if you look at a graph of popular religiosity versus any number of metrics of a healthy, successful society.)<p><i>Ah yees, the folks who think that fire can't melt steel....</i><p>WTF...?<p><i>And yes, ghosters and the like do push things on the public schools.</i><p>Gonna call "citation needed" on that.<p>About the closest thing I can come up with is the occasional group of morons demanding that schools shut down their WiFi networks due to allergies to the radiation, or what-have-you.  Same stupidity as religion, different manifestation.  It all comes down to lack of respect for processes that actually improve our lives, in favor of ones that contribute nothing but BS.