Intellectual disease: The U.S. continues to be plagued by ignorance and superstition – a recent Gallup Poll shows 75% of Americans believe the Bible is the word of God.

According to the poll, twenty-eight percent of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God and that it should be taken literally. In addition, about half of Americans say that while the Bible may not be the literal word of god, it is the inspired word of God. In the end, a combined 75% of Americans believe the Bible is in some way connected to God.

On a more positive note, about one in five Americans are rational and reasonable on the matter, and correctly view the Bible as a collection of ancient fables, legends, and precepts written by men.

The 20% who view the bible in purely secular terms is up from 13% in 1976.

In related news, another Gallup Poll released at the beginning of June shows that more than four in 10 Americans are creationists, and believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.

Half of Americans believe humans evolved, with the majority of these saying God guided the evolutionary process.

The good news: the percentage of Americans who say God was not involved in human evolution is slowly rising.

The bottom line: The U.S. continues to be awash in scientific illiteracy, religious superstition, and profound ignorance.