If there is no such thing as an evolutionist then why is that word in the dictionary S

If there is no such thing as an "evolutionist" then why is that word in the dictionary :S?

I dislike people who say there is no such word, because they clearly haven't taken the time to actually look.

But the dictionary says its someone who believes, and supports the theory of evolution. People often use it to mean more than this, though, which is where the problem arises. People use it to imply that evolution is some kind of religion, when this is simply not the case.

Thus, atheists like myself tend to get a bit tired of hearing it used in that context, and its easier to say there's no such thing rather than explain the nuances of meaning like I'm doing here. And really, in the sense of a cousin to the Christian, as it were, there is no such thing.

@Kathy D: Do you call someone who believes the unprovable (yes, it is) THEORY of gravity a gravityist?

Other Answers:

Evolutionist is a term widely used in scientific circles in England, but not in the United States. In the US evolutionary biologist or just biologist (since all modern biology is considered to follow the theoretical paradigm of evolution) is used. Evolutionist is more popularly used in the US by people ignorant of biological science, who try to paint the belief in evolution as founded on a religious-like devotion to dogma rather than scientific facts.

the dictionary is wrong-

just like it is with the definition of "martial arts".

the dictionary refers to martial arts as a series of unarmed systems of fighting (generally).

the fact is that historical research will uncover that the term comes from the phrase (translated from latin) the "Arts of Mars" mars bieng the god of war, thus any tactic or strategy used in war is in effect a "martial art".

because mcdojos and frauds have popularized the term to mean something other than actually fighting- it has been erroneously picked up by dictionaries in this definition.

Words are added to the dictionary as they fall into popular usage. Since the point to a dictionary is to explain what words mean, leaving out words that shouldn't exist would be pointless.

I'm surprised that "athiest" isn't in there covering both single and plural, it gets used enough...

Because it is in common use by American christians, I wonder if it was them that introduced de-planing (disembarking from a plane) as well, I wonder if they want to introduce such gems as athiest (atheist) or loosing (instead of losing), in fact they could go the whole hog and turn it into a showcase for poor use of English.