Prominent atheist Richard Dawkins lamented over the weekend that Republican presidential candidates were still denying that evolution was a fact.

“This fills me with despair,” Dawkins explained to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “This is not something you believe in or not. I mean, this is a fact. It is a fact. It’s just as much of a fact as the Earth goes around the Sun. You can’t not believe it unless you’re ignorant.”

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The British biologist added that he did not believe that all of the Republican candidates were ignorant.

“I believe what they’re doing is they think that they’ve got to say that in order to appeal to their constituency,” he observed. “And if that’s true, it’s deeply depressing.”

Dawkins noted that Ben Carson’s belief in creationism was especially troubling because the candidate was a former neurosurgeon.

“You just told me all the Republican candidates except one don’t believe in evolution,” Dawkins pointed out to Zakaria. “I mean, that’s a disgrace. But for a very senior eminent distinguished doctor as he is to say that is even worse. Because of course, evolution is the bedrock of biology and biology is the bedrock of medicine.”

“He clearly doesn’t understand the fundamental theorem of his own subject,” he continued. “That is a terrible indictment.”

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“It is a form of arrogance to say we know what God does. The only way to know anything is by looking at the evidence. In this particular case, the evidence is overwhelming… In the case of evolution, there is no doubt. It is a fact.”

Watch the video below from CNN, broadcast Nov. 1, 2015.