Since evolution neither proves nor disproves God, why are theist so afraid to recognize that it's the best scientific model for life?
Many theists think that evolution is somehow tied to atheism. It Is not. Atheism is (simply?) non-acceptance of theistic claims.
It is true that atheists tend to accept evolution and I think there are two reasons for this: First, evolution explains the diversity of life that we see WITHOUT the need for a god of any kind. Second, many atheists accept that science is generally a reliable method of investigating what is most likely to be true and science essentially tells us that evolution is a FACT.
Theists, at least in my experience, are so bound up with their 'holy' book that anything in conflict with it MUST be wrong. I do not understand what they are scared of but they are scared of something. I was brought up as a strict Roman Catholic but I have no problem facing up to evidence that has caused me to rethink.
A number of religions have now accepted evolution as an explanation to how god managed his creations, this is not always filtered down through the congregations though, but unfortunately they still sadly put the all mighty creator into the equation at the onset
I have two family members that identify with the title of biblical literalist southern baptist preacher (mouthful of buzz words I know!) after realizing that sharing scientific or even philosophical arguments with them on different occasions throughout my late teens and early 20's, I remember being irritated at my parents talking over me, family ignoring the comment, or someone changing the subject then shooting dagger eyes at me until I dropped my argument...it did help clear up why they were that way though. Ppl in that faith know that open mindedness requires extra mental gymnastic effort and adept loophole finding in religious documents....and ppl realized that the less they concede, the less they have to work at convincing their followers to stick with them. The whole idea is one false or misplaced biblical term invalidates the whole thing, and if it seems like there is something there like that, a good Christian has the faith to "know" he/she is mistaken
I don't think most are. The Roman Catholic church has no problem with evolution and many protestants firmly accept it to.
Some (particularly loud) evangelicals don't like it because it doesn't agree with their preconceived beliefs. Cognitive bias (remember we all have them) are clearly indicated here in the negative. If you've ever suffered a full-blown dissonance (I can only recall one) it's about the most uncomfortable feeling I can describe.
I think that if you're taking into consideration the populations of the world it might be a few percentage points above 50% who accept that evolution is a better explanation than creationism. Roughly six-in-ten U.S. adults (62%) say humans have evolved over time, according to data from Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study. But only a little more than half of them (33% of all Americans) express the belief that humans and other living things evolved solely due to natural processes. A quarter of U.S. adults (25%) say a supreme being guided evolution. The same survey found that 34% of Americans reject evolution entirely, saying humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.