The problem in America is two fold.

The first problem is religious ideas are often in conflict with scientific ideas.

The second problem is that the American people have been conditioned in such a way that they believe that everything should be democratic. They feel that they should have a vote, and their opinion is somehow just as valuable as everyone else, despite whether they know anything on the subject or not.

You can clearly see this type of conditioning on American TV, especially Faux news. Faux News constantly airs the outcome of polls, to suggest to their audience that their opinions matter, to the right. Then, to reinforce that idea further, they will often read comments left by their horde of brainless followers. Reality shows are yet another great example of how Americans seem to think.