Why is Evolution Being Rejected?

I have previously written a post regarding the fact that evolution is frequently denied (specifically in the US) and why that is a worrying concept. Now I would like to postulate as to why evolution is rejected by so many, even though the evidence for it is so overwhelming.

Throughout school I loved biology, in college I found my passion for the subject grew even further so I decided to study it at university. I loved it all, from cognitive biology, endocrinology and neurobiology but my favorite by far was genetics and evolutionary biology; it was so elegant yet somehow terrifying, learning how a slight mutation in the human genetic structure can lead to horrific, incurable diseases yet it is this same process of mutation that has lead to the formation of humanity and all existent lifeforms we know today. 

It seemed astonishing to me learning the intricacies of genetic mutations and DNA replication that anyone could disbelieve; there was just too much evidence. Over the years trying to understand where all this disbelief stems from I have come to the conclusion that their are two possibilities:

1. Rejection due to faith - This is the idea that individuals have heard and understood the evidence yet rejected it due to their preexisting world views. Surprisingly I don’t believe this is common, mostly because I don’t think the rejection of such a mountain of evidence is an easy thing to do regardless of how deep your ingrained beliefs are.

2. Lack of education - This I believe is the most common reason for disbelief, they are simply not hearing the evidence, this idea is worrying. I am so happy I had the chance to learn about this subject matter, this beautiful, elegant, wonderful concept and it saddens me to believe that others are deprived of this.

If my conclusions are correct then this means there are severe deficiencies in science education in America (and around the world). I can only offer anecdotal evidence rather than any documented research, yet I am always hearing stories of parents screaming at teachers for teaching their kids about evolution (and teachers avoiding teaching evolution just to avoid this), and creationist groups wasting the time of school boards to try and force their creationist nonsense into science lessons. This to me seems a repeating cycle towards the destruction of science education:

The reduction of science education leads to a lack of protection against false evidence, and irrational belief which then leads to a further reduction in science education, and on and on it goes. It is my conclusion that one message needs to be spread: religion needs to stay the fuck out of the science classrooms!